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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111808">The Beggar Prince</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kiri_Storm/pseuds/Captain_Kiri_Storm'>Captain_Kiri_Storm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse of Authority, Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Arthurian Romance, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Boys in Chains, Dark Fantasy, Dark Magic, Dubious Consent, Families of Choice, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inspired By Tumblr, Inspired by Game of Thrones, M/M, Non-Sexual Slavery, Princes &amp; Princesses, Princes in Disguise, Revenge, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, knight errant</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:56:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111808</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Kiri_Storm/pseuds/Captain_Kiri_Storm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Aeryn Kunar has lost everything.</p><p>Once, he was the crown prince of Juba, one of the most powerful nations on the continent. He had a family - parents, brothers, sisters, and someone who might have become something more. Once, he didn't have to worry about where his next meal was coming from or if he was going to stay safe. Aeryn's life came crashing down after an invasion that he barely managed to escape. After a long stint in the dungeons of a border castle, he's almost ready to give up.</p><p>Mael Tanyo has other plans.</p><p>Long since a knight errant, Mael doesn't like the changes enforced on Juba. He's willing to do almost anything to get his status back. That's looking like it's going to involve dragging out the old prince from the gutter and planning on a little high treason. Mael has friends in low places and enough weapons to take out a small army. He also has the support of nearly every lorded knight and plenty of freelancers, too. Mael has made his plans. Now it's time to implement them.</p><p>He just never counted on feelings... or even the possibility of those feelings being returned.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Male Character/Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aeryn Kunar pulled the cloak a little tighter around his shoulders, a few scraps of his dirty blonde hair falling into his face. He needed to wash it, cut it, or maybe do both. The snowflakes fell overhead, settling on his shoulders and melting into the dark wool of his cloak. Aeryn didn't have the energy to move. There were those who said that silk was as strong as burlap, but they had never tried to live the life that he was living. He was cold, he was hungry, and he didn't dare lay his head down to rest. The new king - Seoras Tadhg - had men everywhere. Aeryn didn't know how many of his siblings had survived the attack on Muire Hall, but he knew that Seoras still thought they were a threat and he was throwing men and money after phantoms.</p><p>The fact that Aeryn had escaped a Ceit stronghold probably did nothing to ease the man's fears. In any case, Seoras didn't need to worry. Aeryn was just trying to survive, that was all. He didn't even know if he would make it through the winter.</p><p>None of the passers-by looked at him. For all they knew or cared, he was just another wounded soldier. Juba was full of them these days. The invasion had called nearly every man who could wield a weapon and maimed half of them. The Ceit had brought their lithe, glistening war horses - aggressive beasts with ears that curled in a decked out with collars and bridles made of gold. The rough ponies that the Juba kept hadn't been able to match the strength and fury of those horses, nor could they match the fury of the great, furry war dogs. The Ceit's horses and men had been wounded in the invasion and the war, but Seoras tended to take care of his men. It was the native Juban people that he didn't care for.</p><p>Aeryn supposed that it might have been irony. Once upon a time, his ancestors had invaded Juba. He was descended from people who did the same thing that Seoras had done, though he liked to think that it wasn't as violent what Seoras did. At least his ancestors had married into the family instead of destroying it. As it was now, Aeryn thought that he was going to freeze to death. A fine layer of frost covered his lashes and he was having a hard time keeping alert. Aeryn was so tired. His body ached. He just wanted to sleep, to rest forever, and to let this all be a nightmare. The chill had invaded every part of his body and threatened to drag him into its cold, unrelenting embrace.</p><p>Aeryn rested his head against the half frozen brick. He watched the people with tired eyes, wincing as one of the tall, glistening horses splashed him with mud. His hair made him a target, but no one took the bounty that was offered. He was dying. You didn't feed a wild cat dying prey - you let the beast kill it themselves. One of the Ceit noblewomen rode by and made a face when she saw Aeryn's tired, ragged body. The spotted cat at her side looked up, like it was expecting her to order it forwards, but she didn't try to make him run. She just smiled a cold little smile and rode her gleaming black horse right on by. Aeryn resisted the urge to make a rude gesture at her. He didn't need to give her a reason to go after him.</p><p>Someone rode through the alleyway on a spotted horse. The animal was shaggy, with a long forelock and a black mane and tail to contrast with a speckle white body. The man upon her didn't look like much. He wore thick and sturdy pants and a leather greatcoat and his shirt looked like it might have been blue once, but the dye had long since faded. The horse tramped through the mud, splattering the narrow alleyway and brushing past the piles of tough crates. The other man had dark hair and olive skin and his eyes looked like they were a light, golden brown. He was clearly an expert rider, even if he wasn't using a proper saddle and the bridle he had looked like it was made out of scraps of leather.</p><p>The sword, though... that sword looked like it had seen some action and Aeryn was willing to bet that the man was wearing a gambeson under the leather and maybe even the light material of the shirt. The cold didn't seem to bother him that much and the horse had long and shaggy hair. She paused beside Aeryn, her eyes light and golden. Aeryn reached out his hand. He was dirty, his fingers stiff and cold, and he gently reached his hands over to touch the mare's nose. She nudged him, her ears flickering forwards, and the man coughed. Aeryn jerked his hands back. He didn't want to dirty the mare's pretty hide with his dirty fingers. He also didn't want to lose his hand.</p><p>The man quickly dismounted, pulling his hood over his head. "What's your name, sirrah?"</p><p>"Does it matter?" Aeryn quietly replied. "Just let me die. Please."</p><p>The houses and stores seemed to claw at the heavy grey sky. This place had grown up from a simple hamlet and now the buildings covered several of the waterways and the streets were little more than meanderings that cut through the vast brick, timber, and plaster canyon. Aeryn hated this place. He wanted to leave, but he had no money and no way of doing such a thing.</p><p>"I know who you are." The man tipped up Aeryn's head, cocking his own head to the side. "There's enough bounty on your head to buy my lodging for a year."</p><p>"Then what's stopping you from taking it?" Aeryn asked. "I'm dying anyways. I might as well be warm when I finally go."</p><p>The man laughed and shook his head. "Well, it's good for you that I'm not." He draped his leather coat over Aeryn's shoulders and helped him up. "My name is Mael Tanyo and I think I might have a plan that would work well for the both of us. You see, a certain bastard named Seoras has made life not so pleasant for me and mine and going by the looks of it, it's sucked for you, too. Now it just might be your lucky day, you poor devil, but I'm gonna give you a helping hand."</p><p>"Alright." Aeryn wasn't going to argue. The coat was still warm for Tanyo's body and he warmed his hands against the mare's side. "Where exactly are we going?"</p><p>"Well, I have enough coin and enough friends to buy us a room for the next week," Tanyo replied. He swung up on his horse and dragged Aeryn up behind him. "I think we'll start with a bath and a haircut and maybe something for that bony face of yours."</p><p>"Alright." Aeryn nestled into the man."Thank you."</p><p>The cold seemed to melt from his bones a little and he closed his eyes. What harm would it do to humor the man and at least get a few meals off of him? Aeryn couldn't remember the last time he had had a good dinner and he figured that nothing he ran into could be much worse.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mael thought he was pretty. There was a tired beauty about the man, something that spoke of the things he had gone through. The man looked like he just wanted to curl up and die and Mael thought there was a beauty in that. It meant that Aeryn wasn't likely to tell him no if things started getting a little heated. Mael liked to think that he was a knight in shining armor, even though he knew that armor was rusted and covered in corrosion. Mael might not have liked the Ceit or how they upset the existing power structures, but he would say this: they liked hiring lone knights. They <em>especially</em> liked to hire knights who were just as much outsiders as they were. Mael happened to be both.</p><p>He also happened to have personal reasons to despise Tadhg. Why should have been fairly obvious - the man had a way about him that was beyond annoying - and he didn't like to take no for an answer. Come to think of it, that might have been why Aeryn was starving in the streets instead of on the man's arm, though how he got into one of the border cities was a bit hard to understand.</p><p>Mael brushed that one off and paid for their private room and a bath. If anyone wanted to ask about the shy blonde or why he was all wrapped up in a fur lined cloak, no one dared. Mael was known for his sharp blade and his quick temper - both things you needed if you were going to make a decent living as a mercenary or a knight errant. He intended to leave that life and the best way he knew how was with a marriage. Women had never been his thing and princes who would admit the same were few and far between. That left him with Aeryn and the need to build an army. There really was nothing personal about his fight with Tadhg. It was just the quickest means to an end and it left him with something sweet and pretty, too.</p><p>He earned enough coin that he could have their meals brought up to him and ensure they had privacy. That was important for the other parts of his plan. Mael helped Aeryn undress and seated him in a carved marble tub that was filled with steaming water and floating flower petals. Marl thought they were jasmine. He really didn't care. The hot bath would warm Aeryn up enough and the meal he was making - roasted pork shoulder and a light salad - would start him on the path to recovery. If the stories really were true and Aeryn really was a gentle soul, then he wasn't going to argue too much when Mael kissed him. Mael tried not to spy on the man too much, but he did notice the deep lash scars and frowned.</p><p>He knelt beside the tub. "Are you alright, my prince?"</p><p>"Just a little cold," Aeryn murmured. He smiled and lowered his head when Mael kissed his cheek. "That is... I would have never thought about warming a man up that way. Thank you, Sir Mael."</p><p>So likely a virgin then. Mael hummed as he carved up the meat. Getting Aeryn warm and with a good meal in his belly would likely wake up the earliest drive in the books. That or his sense of gratitude would keep his mouth shut. Mael intended to be careful. He washed Aeryn's hair for him, careful with the long strands, and made sure that he dressed only in a loose robe and settled him on the low couches with a plate of food and a bowl to wash his fingers with. Mael sat beside him, spreading his thick cloak over the other man's shoulders. He, personally, thought it was getting a little stuffy with the cloak, the water, and the merry fire, but Aeryn finally seemed to be thawing out.</p><p>Mael kissed his cheek softly as he offered the other man a bite of the richly spiced pork. "You are hungry, little one. I wish that I might have found you sooner. Maybe you wouldn't be looking this rough if I did." Mael nipped his ear this time, playing with Aeryn's still wet strands of hair. "You're quite beautiful, though. I've never seen someone with hair as long as yours."</p><p>Aeryn ducked his head and shook some. "I don't... I've never done this before..."</p><p>"That's alright," Mael whispered. He kissed Aeryn again and drew him towards the bed. "I've done this any number of times. Sailing is best learned with an old ship, you know." He pulled the cloak off of Aeryn's shoulders and smiled softly. "You're so beautiful under the muck, Aeryn. I never would have thought that you were this pretty before I got you washed off."</p><p>Mael kissed Aeryn deeper, pulling off his own shirt and tossing it on the rush covered floor. He had had a sweet oil delivered to their room and he knew that he needed to take it slow. Mael smiled, kissing him more and nuzzling him, and slowly pushing the blushing prince down on the bed. The robe came off easily and, going by the prince's dick, he was enjoying it. Mael grinned more. He'd never fucked royalty before and he figured that this was going to be a learning experience for them both. Aeryn's moon colored skin stood out against the warm, rustic colored blankets and his nipples pebbled against the cold. Mael tried not to grab his pants. The last thing he needed to do was spoil this.</p><p>He grabbed one of the pillows and propped it under Aeryn's hips. Aeryn opened his mouth to say something, but he sighed and squirmed when Mael breached him with one slick finger. Mael took it slowly and carefully, kissing him through it and smiled when Aeryn cried out with need. Mael didn't want to deny him. He wasn't going to hurry it up, either. He took his time, slowly breaching Aeryn and making him squirm. A deep flush colored Aeryn's face and chest and he tried to push himself against the fingers. Mael pulled them off after a minute and unlaced his breeches. He slicked himself up and slowly pushed his way into the other man. Aeryn mewled around him and arched his back.</p><p>"Easy," Mael whispered. Aeryn was so tight and hot around him that he couldn't keep himself still. "Easy, Aeryn. You're not used to this, but it's going to be great. Just let me do this for you, please?"</p><p>Mael rolled his hips gently, kissing Aeryn all over and smiling as the man started gasping and whining. The man wasn't going to last long. Mael didn't mind that - it had been a long time since he had done this either. He rolled his hips more, watching as the man groaned. Aeryn couldn't decide what he wanted - to sit and let the other man fuck him or to demand more. Aeryn tried to grab at him, whining softly and squirming more. Mael silenced him with a kiss as he picked up the pace. Aeryn yelped, trying to grab at him, and Mael swatted his hands away. Aeryn whined, scratching at the blankets and he yelled when his body shook. Mael kissed him through it and pulled out.</p><p>Aeryn watched and whined as Mael roughly jerked himself off. He probably didn't know what he was supposed to think when Mael came all over his belly and added to the mess. Mael just kissed him again and got a wet cloth. He wanted to crow about what he had just done, but he just curled up beside him and let Aeryn grab at him blindly. Marl did kiss him, though. He did want Aeryn to love him, after all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aeryn hadn't been this warm for a long time and his belly hadn't been this full, either. Mael had provided more food than he had seen in weeks and seemed to think that he would eat it all in one sitting. Breakfast was an apple tart with warmed wassail to drink. There was a little caramelized sugar drizzled on top of the tart and the wassail was strong enough to make his limbs warm and syrupy. Mael kissed him softly, stroking his face, as they cuddled on the bed. Aeryn was so warm and he didn't want to do anything but sit there and take it. His belly was full. He was warm. He had someone who was very kind with him and he loved the way the apples tasted on Mael's lips.</p><p>Mael pushed him back against the bed and kissed down his neck. His big hands mapped out ever part of Aeryn's body, kissing him all over. Aeryn shuddered softly. He arched his body up, seeking the sensation. Mael toyed with him, kissing over him and nipping his side. Aeryn almost wanted to try to push him away and ease his needs himself. He didn't know how he might manage to do something about this, but he wanted to be pleasured and he didn't want Mael to toy with him as such. Mael just laughed. He pressed against the other man, stroking his body and finally opening him up with slick fingers. Aeryn was hungry for this touch, hungry to be filled and pleasured.</p><p>Mael had awoken something in him that Aeryn didn't even know existed. He wanted more - wanted to demand more, but he didn't know how to voice those concerns. Mael drew away from him and reached over to the warm pitcher of wassail. He planted a soft kiss on Aeryn's cheek as he handed him a warm pottery mug. Aeryn drank deep, enjoying the sweet taste. He used to love lambswool, but he didn't know if they made that drink anymore. It had a sweet, buttery taste to it and he loved the drink seemed to caress his senses. Mael helped him sit up beside him, stroking his hair and kissing his cheek. He was gentle with his touches and he didn't try to ease the arousal that burned in Aeryn's belly.</p><p>"What are you doing?" Aeryn asked. He loved the petting and the way he was pressed into the other man, but he was hungry in ways that couldn't be sated by this. "I... what are you trying to get me to do? Beg you?"</p><p>"Learn a little restraint," Mael murmured. He pressed a kiss against Aeryn's cheek and smiled. "I love being with you, you know. You're sweet, you're gentle, and there isn't a mean bone in your body. I don't want you to have the idea that our relationship is just a sexual one." He nuzzled Aeryn and cut him a slice of tart and started to feed him some. "I would like to get a little meat on your bones. Lunch will be venison with a pepper sauce and we'll have a little more tart if there's any of that left."</p><p>Aeryn swatted the man's hand away. "I don't want venison, Mael. I want something and you can give it to me. <em>Now</em>."</p><p>Mael blinked and rubbed his face. "You really are a prince, then. I've never known someone to be so demanding when they're in bed and drinking fine things and eating better food. And here I thought that you were just a street brat that happened to look like one of the princes. That, or you were a royal bastard. The history books know how many of those have been thrown by all the great houses."</p><p>Aeryn grabbed his blanket and glared at the man. "What?! You think I'm a royal bastard?!"</p><p>Mael shrugged and got himself out of the great bet. He pulled his shirt off, glancing back at Aeryn. The man seemed inscrutable, like there was something on beyond his dark eyes. He picked up a piece of paper and scrawled something over it with a pen. Aeryn tried to grab his own pants. He didn't know what to think. He liked Mael, he thought that the man was kind enough, but he didn't want to be considered a royal bastard. Aeryn leaned down, letting the sunlight catch the scars on his back. He winced some, hating the way that the scar tissue pulled at his body. It made moving difficult and it took him a minute to stand up and peer over Mael's shoulder.</p><p>Mael whistled and opened the window. A magnificent black kestrel swooped through the window, finally coming to rest on Mael's shoulder. Mael kissed the bird as he tied the rolled letter to its leg before he tossed it up in the air. The cold air seemed to swell under it's wings and it wheeled around the room twice before vanishing through the window. Aeryn shivered. He wrapped one of the blankets around himself as he tried to figure out what was going wrong. He didn't read short hand. However, he did know what the symbol for Ceit was and that had been scratched into the letter several times. Aeryn took a deep breath. He needed to find out more about Mael. Why did the man want him?</p><p>How had he even known that Aeryn was still alive?</p><p>Aeryn risked a question. "Who were you writing too?"</p><p>"Reinforcements." Mael kissed him gently and combed through the man's soft blonde hair. "The new king isn't as powerful as he would like to seem and I'm willing to offer things."</p><p>"Things like what?" Aeryn quietly asked. "Mael, that's treason and we could be killed. Especially if you're conspiring with a foreign power..."</p><p>"Offering part of your lands." Mael pulled Aeryn down and kissed him harder. "I'm going to kill him, though, pet and he doesn't know it. He thinks that we'll be a perfect patsy for him to move in and sweep over Juba." He pinned Aeryn to the bed, pulling the shirt off and nuzzling the bare skin. "It's going to be <em>perfect</em>. With you at my side and me of the old blood, we're going to take this land back and we're going to drive the Ceit out. Them and their weird sky faerie. We're Juban - we don't need that."</p><p>Aeryn arched his back when Mael filled him. He couldn't fight the moans or the way he yielded to the man's hot, wet kisses. He'd never felt pleasure like this before. Never could have imagined it. Every thrust from Mael sent sparks of pleasure up his spine and he was so keyed up that he knew he wouldn't last. Aeryn didn't bother trying to keep quiet. He bucked his hips, seeking the pleasure even more, and the man fucked into him harder. Aeryn grabbed the bed linens. He turned his head, whining and moaning. It was too much and not enough and he didn't know what the hell he would do when it all stopped. Mael seemed almost brutal in his thrusts, driving Aeryn over the edge before crying out and slumping over the man.</p><p>Aeryn kissed Mael's cheek softly. "I'm not a bastard, you know. I truly am the heir to the throne of Juba and the Lion of the North."</p><p>"That's nice," Mael grunted. He pulled Aeryn close and kissed him in the hollow of his throat. "Let's do some more pleasant things, shall we?"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mael curled up beside Aeryn, nuzzling the other man. He pressed a kiss against the younger man's back, touching the fine swell of his ass and kissing him a little more. Aeryn tried to push him away. He was half asleep, it seemed, and the sheets tangled around his lithe, naked body. Mael rolled out of bed. He didn't want to bother the other man too much and it was best to let him rest. The cold floor seemed to bite his toes as he walked to the desk. Mael hated being cold. He hated the winters of Juba, but there wasn't much he could do about that. He pulled a fur cloak over his shoulders as he slowly penned a letter. He hated doing this, but he was going to need reinforcements.</p><p>Tadhg had the people scared. Stirring up a rebellion was a good way to end up on the gallows in Anselm, especially if that rebellion failed. Mael didn't intend to fail anytime soon. He bit his bottom lip as he scrawled out his thoughts. King Cathwulf and his consort were the types to move in for the kill if they had the chance. That was why Mael intended to do the betraying first. Cathwulf, of course, didn't need to know this. All he needed to know was that the rich kingdom of Juba was suffering under an unjust leader and they were begging for someone to save them. The grateful nation, of course, would be more than willing to allow the Matijan king to make them a vassal state.</p><p>Mael intended to kill them, though. He also intended to teach Aeryn how to fight.</p><p>Alyra, the kestrel, swooped into the window. She rubbed her beak on his shoulder, nibbled his fingers some, and cocked her head when she saw Aeryn. The bird fluttered over to him, but Mael stopped her. Alyra was rough like all birds were and she bit. Mael had scars on his arms and shoulders from where Alyra had attacked him. Mael brushed her feathers gently. He had a special bond with Alyra. He had raised her from a chick after hounds killed her parents and there was just something special about her. The kestrel had a way of seeking him and others out. Maybe she was touched by the gods. Maybe she was just lucky that way. Whatever it was, it made Mael's life easier.</p><p>"You're a good girl," he crooned softly. "Such a good girl for me."</p><p>Aeryn slowly picked himself up and the sheets fell off of his body. "What's going on, Mael?"</p><p>"My bird came home." Mael replied. "Her name's Alyra." He smiled softly and perched the kestrel before letting Aeryn see her. "Careful with her, now. She does bite and she doesn't know you."</p><p>"I've never seen a black kestrel before," Aeryn murmured. He stroked her head and smiled softly. "She's beautiful, Mael. I... Before, I was a little scared of birds like this. They always looked so fearsome when they swooped over the fields and took the rabbits. I didn't want to touch them, but I like her. I'm not scared of her at all. She's so peaceful."</p><p>Mael just smiled and settled back on the bed. He tossed Alyra in the air and watched as she perched on the chair. She usually chewed on his pens or his coat, but she was more interested in preening herself this time. Mael leaned over and kissed Aeryn. The other man started some, but he softened under Mael's kisses. Mael kissed him deeper, straddling the man's hips and kissing a line down his belly. Aeryn whined softly. He opened his legs before reaching for the oil. He offered that up to Mael, his eyes light and pretty. Mael kissed him gently as he slicked the other man up. Aeryn's greedy hole sucked him in and the man arched a little bit. He even keened as Mael slowly slipped inside him.</p><p>He loved that wet, molten heat and the way Aeryn gripped him. Mael rolled his hips gently, kissing him gently and stroking his body. He tweaked the other man's nipples, making him writhe and keen. He ignored Aeryn's weeping dick, ignored the way he begged softly, and chased his own pleasure. Mael pushed the man into the bedding. He fucked into the man harder, making him keen and writhe. Mael kissed him more, nipping him and leaving little red marks. He snapped his hips faster. Aeryn tipped his head back and wailed, reaching for his dick with his hands. Mael slapped his hands away. He wanted Aeryn to come on his dick without being touched.</p><p>Aeryn whined, but he dropped his hand back. He had to be close, going by the way he was clenching and keening. He tried to roll his hips back, tried to get more of what he had to be craving, and that must have done. Aeryn arched himself and cried out. He grabbed at Mael, trying to hold him close, and scratched the man with his fingers slid off sweat slick skin. Mael fucked him through his orgasm and kissed him again. He loved the way Aeryn whimpered and squirmed, almost like he was trying to get away. Mael grunted after a second. He rested on top of the man after he was done, pressing kisses against his sweaty skin. They had messed up the sheets and bounced the pillows out of the bed, but that didn't matter.</p><p>All that mattered was the man in his arms. Mael shook his head after a second. He was in too deep and he needed to think about the long game instead of fucking a willing body.</p><p>Mael kissed him gently and held him close. "You're sweet, you know that? You're the sweetest man I've ever met and that's saying something."</p><p>Alyra screamed from her perch and fluffed her wings.</p><p>Mael laughed and rolled over. "You're a sweet <em>girl</em>, Alyra. He's a man. My man. Don't go getting jealous of him, alright?"</p><p>Alyra fluffed her wings and and started chewing on the wood. Mael let her have at it. The last thing he wanted to do was make her angry and he knew she could change her moods like the wind. He pressed a kiss into Aeryn's throat, licking up the salt that had clung to his skin. He loved the way the man looked, the way he sprawled against the bedding and his cheeks flushed. There was something so innocent, yet so debauched about him. Mael smiled softly. There were many things he wanted to teach Aeryn and the fine art of lovemaking was only part of it. Mael looped his arms around the man and debated his next move. He had allies in the Winter Forest. It was just a problem of trying to find them.</p><p>Mael glanced back to Alyra. He hoped she was willing to lead him to Renly and her men.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aeryn wrapped the cloak around himself and settled in front of Mael. It had been a long time since he had ridden a horse and even longer since he had ridden double. The spotted horse, Eyris, paced some as they waited for the kestrel to come back. She was ready to move on and she didn't want to wait on them. Mael wore his second thickest cloak, the best one being wrapped around Aeryn, and he seemed to be waiting for something. After a second, a black dog trotted through the aleey. It paused when it saw Mael and flicked its ears before slipping back into the rabbit warren of buildings. Mael eased the horse after the dog and soon they passed from the more respectable part of the city to one that was filled with blackened, rotting wood and pools of filth.</p><p>Eyris slipped some as she tried to navigate the place. The cobblestones were little more than ways to shore up the mud holes that populated the road. Stray dogs, most of them the rangy mutts that came from the highlands, rummaged through the streets. Goats were tied out beside every green patch and chickens scratched beside hovels and pigs rooted through the muddy streets. Coal fires burned in the houses and stained the white laundry left out to dry. The wells beside every single street corner were half collapsed and Aeryn could smell the stinking water. The people here looked haggard and worn. The horses they had were small things, bony and covered in sores, pulling carts that were almost too big for them.</p><p>Mael jumped off in front of a hovel. "Renly? Renly! W here the hell are you?!"</p><p>A tall, swarthy man pushed the rotting hide from the door and glared at the man. He wore a faded, brown tunic and a rusty looking dagger graced his belt. His black hair, long and greasy, had been pulled back into a braid. The wolf-like black dog settled at his feet, panting, and looked up at the man like he was the prince himself. Mud splattered the walls and little bits of green poked up by the rotting timbers. Aeryn could see more horses in a corral. They looked like they were the small, wiry horses that came from the highlands. Some of them even looked like the type of animals bred on the distant grassmere. One of them looked like no horse that Aeryn had ever seen. Its fur shone like a gold coin and there was something war like in its eyes.</p><p>Renly coughed and glared at the men. "And who is that?"</p><p>"Aeryn," Mael replied. He grinned and helped Aeryn dismount. "We're going to need another horse, you know. As much as I like the man, I don't enjoy riding double. I need something calm and gentle enough for a child. He's been sick as a dog recently and the last thing I want is for him to get bucked off by one of your war horses."</p><p>Renly snorted and leaned against the well worn wood. "You know I'm in the business of selling war horses, my friend. I buy them from the S'aali who breed them or get them from chaos knows where. They come to me half wild and terrified of people - the S'aali let them run free until they want to handle them - and I do the best I can. If you want tame, buy a child's riding pony. I sell <em>war horses</em>!"</p><p>"Yeah, I know," Mael replied. He just smiled and tossed a simple coin at the other man. "Get me one of the ones that's not going to bite someone. I'm sure a smart man like you can find one that's not going to bite the hell out of me!"</p><p>Aeryn swallowed as Renly went back to his corral. He came back with a small flaxen mare, her mane lighter compared to her chestnut body, and she danced like she was nervous. Eyris lowered her ears like she wanted to strike at the mare, but Mael soothed her. He seemed to like black horses and, while he wasn't amused with the horse he was being offered, Aeryn liked her. He walked forwards and touched her face, noting how expressive her eyes were and the kind way she nosed his face. Aeryn wished Mael knew that he could ride. He had ridden war horses before, massive things that made the earth shudder when they ran. He didn't need to ride some little pony, though he did like the mare.</p><p>Aeryn cleared his throat. "I can ride, you know. I'm not a child."</p><p>"Yeah?" Renly asked. "Prove it."</p><p>"Alright." Aeryn walked back to the corral and looked around at the group of mares. There was a dark grey one, with a dorsal stripe, bars on her legs, and a scar down her side. "I think I shall ride that one. She looks like she carries the spirit of the mountains with her, and I like that in a horse."</p><p>"She's going to kill you," Renly laughed. "I've been meaning to kill that beast myself, but I've never had the time."</p><p>Aeryn sighed softly and jumped over the wooden railing. The other horses reared away from him and laid back their ears. They weren't massive things, but they looked strong and swift. The grullo mare laid her ears back, warning him off with the stamp of her hoof. Aeryn nodded to her and grabbed at her mane. She lunged at him, laying her ears back and lunging at him. Aeryn dodged her, slipping in the mud. She lunged at him again and danced around him. She didn't want to hurt him, he could tell, but she was scared and wanted to warn him off. Aeryn danced behind a silver mare and jumped up on the railing. He vaulted over on top of the grullo mare and grabbed her mane.</p><p>The animal bucked up and screamed. Aeryn held on like a bur, holding on to her as she bucked and kicked and screamed. The other horses wheeled around him, trying to dance away from them and one of them crashed through the split wood. A tiger striped gelding screamed as the wood pierced his leg. Aeryn's mare tried to bite at him, tried to chase him off of her back. She tried to go over backwards, but Aeryn twisted her ear. She screamed again, crashing all through the ruined square. Renly yelled behind him and tried to gather up the other horses, the black dog yapping at them. Mael barked something behind him, but Aeryn ignored him. He tried to guide the mare with his knees, tried to get her away from the copse of trees.</p><p>A ragged little dog came running from the brush. It yapped at the horse, sending her rearing and reaching for the sky. Aeryn forced her into a circle and rode her heard until she quieted down. The mare finally stood still, her flanks heaving and covered in sweat. Aeryn held her back with a touch to her neck. This horse had been ridden before, he <em>knew</em> it. She responded to touches like a Sand Rat horse did and she carried herself in much the same way. Aeryn petted her neck, watching in wry amusement as Renly and Mael bellowed at each other. The little chestnut mare had broken away in the confusion and she came trotting back before getting a little too close to Eyris.</p><p>Eyris lunged and bit her, making the smaller mare scream and buck.</p><p>"He broke my corral!" Renly screamed. "He broke my corral, that idiot!"</p><p>"You said I could ride the horse," Aeryn lightly reminded him.</p><p>"Where did you learn to ride?!" Renly yelled. "The grassmere?!"</p><p>"My riding instructor was from the grassmere," Aeryn light replied. He smiled and gave the man a light salute. "Myself, I learned how to ride when I was very young and with warlander stallions. These little horses are nothing compared to those beasts." He grinned when he saw the look on the man's face. "I might have been held in a castle dungeon for a year, but I'm not dead."</p><p>Mael swallowed and weakly smiled. "The Lion of Juba, everyone?"</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
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    <p>Renly looked at Mael like he wanted to strangle both of them. "That's the Lion of Juba? Are you <em>kidding</em> me?! He thinks he's some bronco buster from the grassmere or one of those religious morons from Deseret doing his holy duty! By breaking my things!"</p><p>"I'm sorry, Renly," Mael softly said. He guided the man into the ragged little house, sighing some. "It was an accident, alright? It's not going to happen again. He just got a little excited - that's as lively as I've seen him in quite some time." He shrugged and sat down at a bare wooden table. "Besides, you want to kill that horse. You said so yourself. Let the little bronco buster do his thing and I'll make you a rich man. What would you think of being <em>Sir</em> Renly Wolfhaven? We could even make that little coydog of yours a knight. It's been done before."</p><p>"In the old times," Renly countered. "And those people didn't have to deal with what we do. They were weak and they allow genocidal fools to rule them." Renly sat down on the table and pulled out his long, thin dagger. "And you really think that you can make me a Lord, Mael? Last time I saw you, you were running with a pavk of bandits and damn near got yourself strung up." He smiled some. "That was some raid you did that one time. Taking on that one Lord who thought that he ruled the world. You knocked that pain in the ass down to size and left him choking on his own blood. I wasn't sorry to see him go, you know, but that was one hell of a fight. King Helier wanted to hang you for that stunt."</p><p>"I know." Mael got up and poured himself a glass of the local cheap wine. It was too sweet and raw for his taste, but it would do the trick. "Helier is dead, though. He was caught in the chapel and ran through with six swords before the Ceit finally let up. Tadhg wasn't playing when he killed that man. I'm not going to be playing when I kill him."</p><p>"And what are you going to do about an heir?" Renly asked. He grinned some. "Aeryn's beautiful, but two men don't make a baby. You're gonna need at least two kids to keep that line going and Tadhg has killed enough of them to make that clan an endangered species."</p><p>Mael grumbled some and glared at the mud colored goblet for a second. "I'm going to adopt a few of the children orphaned by the wars. Some of the locals call them wolf children and treat the kids worse than animals. They won't be our blood, but blood isn't the only thing that makes an heir. A few of the kings used their bastard children after a plague ripped through the palace and killed the legit ones. All I'm doing is just picking a couple of boys that look strong and maybe a girl of two if the other kingdoms wanna get friendly and giving myself a legacy."</p><p>Renly stared at the pine wall, his gaze brooding. The man often didn't drink, but when he did, he got plastered. Mael wanted for him to speak. He knew that this part of the city was one of the few parts that had been standing from before the collapse and some of the walls of this place were made from a single, continuous pour. Mael wondered how someone could pour stone in such a way and keep the wall still standing. Here and there, bits of tarnished copper poked through the smooth stone and Mael could see a few hints of brightly colored paint. He wondered what this place had once been and how it had survived the collapse. It wasn't a special place, not like a palace. It looked like a peasant's home, but it stood while grander places had been destroyed.</p><p>"You're asking for trouble," Renly finally said. He touched the tattered wooden table, his gaze dark. "Tadhg doesn't like it when he finds threats to his power. That boy of yours is supposed to be dead and even so, his older brother was trained to be king. Not that pretty little boy."</p><p>"It can't be that hard," Mael argued. Even though he knew he was asking for trouble, he had to do this. "My ancestors were the royal family before his attacked us. I rather liked the peace before Tadhg came in. The other crown prince was a good man, for a leader. Riwan was going to be just as good a leader as his father was. Then that bastard dragged him off to some castle on the coast and beat him to death." He looked away, stroking his chin and watching as Aeryn played with the black coydog. "I think that family deserves revenge, to be honest. The days of men getting their strength from holy men or drawing swords from lakes is <em>over</em>. It's just us now and we've just gotta make the best of it."</p><p>He got up and ran his hands through his dark hair. Mael needed to get in touch with one of those upstart warlords and see if they could make a make a deal. Mael planned to kill the man when he was done, so money was no object. Of course, it wasn't like there was a book that contained every single warlord known to man. Maybe there had been something like that before the collapse, but it certainly didn't exist nowadays. Marl sighed softly. He glanced over at Aeryn, trying to understand what the man was trying to do. He seemed to be happy right now, playing in the dusty, dirty road with some of the local children. He seemed happy, like he wanted to stay here forever.</p><p>"Who are you going to get in contact with?" Renly finally asked.</p><p>"I was thinking Kileo or Sijin, but I don't know if any of them are going to go for it," Mael softly replied. He shook his head and whistled for Alyra. "I hope my bird can find them, though. It's not going to be easy."</p><p>"Mael, all of those men have large holdings," Renly argued. "They're not going to go for Juba. What exactly do we have to offer, Mael? Fir trees? Clay and shell beads? Horses that we buy from the grassmere? Wheat?" He shook his head and paced around the room. "Those men are going to laugh you out of town and you'd be lucky if they didn't kill that bird of yours. No, you need to go for Kane. He's young, ruthless, and crazy enough to go for whatever you plan. He doesn't have much in the way of holdings, so even a grey and rainy place like Juba would look good to him."</p><p>Mael just wanted to get this dealt with. He hated dealing with the warlords, but he didn't know how he was going to get an army otherwise. Tadhg had gotten the population so scared of him that there wasn't going to be any sort of uprising. Mael was going to have to do this the hard way, then. He didn't want to stab a man in the back, but he had to do it. Mael wasn't going to enjoy killing a man like this, but he had to do it. He smiled grimly as he started to sort things out in his head. He didn't like what he was planning on doing and he knew that Kane's death would haunt him for sometime. It had to be done, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it.</p><p>Mael let out a deep breath and started writing his letter. He hoped this Kane could read, because if the man couldn't, they were going to be dead in the water.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
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    <p>Aeryn rather liked his grullo mare and he sat in the little stable. He brushed the mare's tangled, muddy mane out with a chipped and battered bone comb, singing the songs he had learned from his mother. The mare pricked her ears forwards and closed her eyes when he brushed out her forelock. An orange cat played with her kittens in a pile of straw and a collection of short roan cattle browsed through their fodder. Bits of tree hay hung fro the rafters, preserved for winter, and the air sparkled when it struck the dust motes. This little stable was so peaceful and quiet. It was a far cry from the tire little city just outside the walls. Eyris browsed through her own dinner and Alyra was off doing whatever kestrels did.</p><p>"I think I need to call you Koda," Aeryn decided. He smiled up at the horse and stroked her face. "It means grey."</p><p>Koda simply swished her tail and went back to eating her grain. Aeryn didn't try to push her. She was smaller and finer than the other horses, her head more wedge shaped, and she looked like she was made for speed. Aeryn liked that about her. He wanted to ride her across the mountains, but first he was going to need a saddle and a bridle. Or, maybe, if he wanted to play act like his ancestors, he could ride bareback. Aeryn smiled softly. He was pretty sure that he could ride bareback until he got too sore to walk and then he'd be in trouble. Mael wasn't going to carry him. Aeryn supposed that he did need to have some kind of saddle and a better way of controlling his spirited horse.</p><p>Mael knocked on the stable door as he entered. "What exactly was your plan back there, might I ask?"</p><p>"To show you that I don't need a child's pony," Aeryn replied. He gave Mael a slight smile. "I learned to ride on the back of a Warlander stallion and by the time I was seven, I was training with a sword and a heavy bow. My horses were always spirited things, as a prince should have, and I resent you thinking that I'm always a scared, broken thing." He kissed the man gently and stroked his face. "You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen, you know. I lived in a castle filled with many knights and all were more handsome than the last. But you... you're the first man I've ever wanted. The <em>only</em> man I've ever wanted." He kissed Mael back and groaned when the man deepened the kiss. "And I want you right now."</p><p>"Come on." Mael's voice was rough with desire and he dragged Aeryn up towards a small loft. "I want you, too. Especially after that stunt you pulled with that damn horse."</p><p>Aeryn kissed him as soon as they were alone and stripped the other man's shirt off. He was hungry for this, was hungry for the way he could press against this warm, living man and kiss him. Mael pushed him back against the hay and the mats. They kissed hungrily, rubbed against eat other and nipped over smooth skin. Mael's skin was scarred in many places and he was thin, lithe almost, and his muscles were rope-like under Aeryn's touch. His hips were nearly as defined as Aeryn's were and he was hot,<em> alive</em> under Aeryn's touch. Aeryn had been alone for far too long. He had nearly frozen to death and now he searched for any source of warmth that he could get.</p><p>Mael kissed down the hollow of Aeryn's throat and undid the man's pants. Aeryn wiggled some, trying to get out of the suddenly too tight fabric. Mael kissed him more, making a line down from his navel down to Aeryn's cock. He kissed over Aeryn there, licked him, teased the man, and seemed immune to the soft pleas and moans. Mael's eyes were heart and dark, like this was the thing he wanted most in the world. He licked up the shaft of Aeryn's cock and slowly took the whole thing in his mouth. Aeryn groaned. He'd never felt this before and he rolled his hips, chasing the wet heat. It was intoxicating almost and he didn't want to stop, but Mael pushed him back down.</p><p>Aeryn was more than happy to just sit there and take it. He groaned a little and squirmed some before closing his eyes and moaning. Mael took his time, carefully working him to the edge of pleasure and back again. Aeryn tried to grab at his head and push him back down, but Marl stopped and that wonderful feeling stopped. Aeryn was awash with sensation. His skin felt like it was super charged, like anything that touched him might combust. He could feel the straw poking in his back and when he turned his head, he was looking right at a big black cat. The cat hissed at him before jumping away and that was when Aeryn arched. He hadn't ever felt anything like this before and so the pleasure took him by surprise.</p><p>Mael pulled off and wiped his mouth. "Next time, don't move. I don't like getting choked."</p><p>Aeryn groaned and curled into him. "I've never felt anything like that before. It was amazing - we should do it again!"</p><p>"You need to let me rest." Mael grinned and dumped Aeryn's shirt on top of him. "You act like you're a starving man, you know, and I'm the last bit of roast mutton that's ever gonna exist."</p><p>"When I was first captured, I was locked up in a castle," Aeryn finally said. He looked up and sighed softly. "It was very cold and very dark. One of the border countries - maybe Winter's Wood or Donnhall, they never told me which. It was very cold and very wet. The water pooled in the bottom of the cell and the rats either drowned or died from consumption." Aeryn shuddered. "Whatever straw they gave me rotted within a week. I had a few blankets, but those rotted too. It was cold, so cold. I love being warm and you're the most warm thing I've ever seen." He closed his eyes and nuzzled Mael. "It was honestly warmer on the streets than it was in that cage."</p><p>Mael cursed under your breath. "What happened to your brother?"</p><p>"They took Riwan to the Lord's chamber and he never came back," Aeryn softly said. "I heard they killed him."</p><p>Mael shook his head. There was something that he wanted to say, Aeryn could tell, but the man held his tongue. He simply wrapped his arm around Aeryn's body and rocked him. Aeryn snuggled into the warmth, smiling when Mael dragged a horse blanket on top of them. This was everything he wanted in the world - a warm nest, the man he loved, a full belly, feeling sated. There was nothing he would change about right now. For a second, he wondered why Mael was interested in his brother, but he chalked that up to simple curiosity. Maybe Mael had a dead brother.</p><p>Aeryn tried to push those thoughts out of his head. He was warm now and that was the only thing that mattered.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
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    <p>Mael saddled up Eyris. He didn't like the light little mare that Aeryn wound up with. There was something wild about that little horse, something that spoke to the cold winter winds that made Juba and the dry, hot little canyons that made up the sandmere. The little mare had flinty, nearly blue hooves and her head was finely angled, almost like she was made of wedges and angles. Eyris was smaller and shaggier, formed by the cold winter winds that roared across Juba. Eyris had been born on the ice fields, likely sheltered by some ancient crevice, and she was almost captured when her mother was attacked by the wild, winter white wolves. Eyris' spots would have hidden her during the winter. Koda, the little mare, was going to stick out like a sore thumb.</p><p>Aeryn also had expensive tastes when it came to tack. Renly, of course, was more than willing to sell him whatever he wanted, even though it was going to cost a pretty penny. Thankfully, he was willing to take fox pelts as a payment, the thicker and bigger the better. Alyra happened to be quite good at hunting foxes and big enough to bring the good ones back. Renly was willing to do the gutting, the skinning, and the salting by himself. He just wanted to have those thick, luxurious pelts to sell in the winter. Those fancy ladies were more than willing to buy from a low down, half drunk merchant like Renly, even if they wouldn't be caught dead with him.</p><p>Aeryn smiled softly as they crossed a little creek. "I like Renly. He's a good man, you know. I like his horses and I like his dog. They're nice people and he let me have Koda."</p><p>Mael sighed and tried not to roll his eyes. "Renly only gave you that horse because he got in over his head. He usually deals in yilki from the grassmere, not animals like this. Yilki only understand one thing and it ain't loving, tender kindness. Eyris came from the snow fields. Renly raised her from when she was a month or so old and she was still as mean as a snake when it came to riding."</p><p>They needed to get into the Kayseri Forest and the sooner, the better. Mael glanced towards the forest road. This time of year, it would frost early and cover the poured black stone with a thick layer of frost. In other places, the permafrost had gashed through the road and separated the bed. The black stone was slick as all get out in the rain and it hurt hooves, but it was the fastest, safest way to get from place to place. Kane lived in the Kayseri Forest. Getting there was going to be easier said than done. Alyra could fly there in a few hours, but riding there would take several days. Mael pulled the thick furs over himself, glancing around the thick, green landscape.</p><p>Winter came early in Juba, but the forests were still filled with life. Massive, thick trees reached at the sky, their limbs covered in thick beds of ferns and little blue flowers. A trickling creek ran by the broken road and white deer stood by twisted, greying stumps. The pines were small and shaggy, clinging to the rocky hillside with all they had. Thick vines, some shaggy like a sheep's back, clung to trees. Others were still laden with last summer's grapes. The horses wandered through the forest, covered in the dappled sunlight. The air was thick and golden here, miles away from the harsh wind burned plains. Mael was used to the forest, to the cities that were carved out of the greenery and dotted the forests like they were made from the trees themselves. The First Nations lived in those forests as they always had.</p><p>The invaders, of course, lived on the plains and royally fucked up the landscape with castles and intensive farming.</p><p>Aeryn coughed and wrapped the fur lined cloak around himself. "I hate this place. It's so green and dark and green and close together. How do people live here? How do you live when the trees look like they're closing in one you and you can't see the sky? How does this place even stay green when the rest of the world goes grey and brown?"</p><p>"Magic." Mael stroked Eyris' side and winced when they started to thread through a narrow mountain pass. "When everything collapsed, the earth mother decided she was going to keep us from killing ourselves - and her, too. She used her magic to create the forests in Juba and the WildWood, which is a good thousand miles away from here. Once she had the forests and the magic spells and whatnot dumped over the bad guys, she went back to sleep. Now, some call the forests a curse, but I call them a blessing. They got the assholes out of our land - land back was never a metaphor and this gave us what was rightfully ours. I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth."</p><p>Eyris snorted and stamped her foot, loosening a small waterfall of scree.</p><p>"Sorry about that," Mael sighed. "Aeryn, be careful around the talus. This place used to be cleared back when Juba had a functioning government, but you can see how well the Ceit have been taking care of things."</p><p>High overhead, an eagle cried out. Mael looked up, trying to gauge where they were. He figured they had two days hard riding before they reached Kayseri and that was without being stopped by brigands. Mael carried nothing of value and horses were cheap, so they would find nothing to steal. Aeryn wasn't young enough to be sold as a slave and besides, he wasn't a virgin. Mael glanced back at the younger man, smiling softly. Aeryn looked like one of the old gods, illuminated by rhe dying sunlight. His hair looked like it was made of spun fire and he carried himself like a true warrior would. All he was lacking was a sword or a bow. Aeryn had the most slender, delicate fingers that Mael had ever seen - perfect for kissing and fingers that should never be used for war.</p><p>Silent mist rose around them and the only sound came from the horses as they plodded along. The grey cliffs seemed to claw at the sky, revealing only a sliver of darkening sky. Little piles of scree were tossed around, some anchored in place by bushes and others left where the floods had brought them. A little creek babbled through the middle of the mass and Mael could see the shadows of the fish that swam in it. He knew of a rest stop a few miles up ahead. There was almost always a pile of firewood there and warm ashes, along with a few crude pots and maybe a little tea or beer. That part of the cliffs had been carved out years ago and it was only one out of many that dotted these mountains.</p><p>"It's only a few miles now," Mael softly said. "We'll find a nice spot to bed down, let the horses graze some, and I can make sweet love to you in the mountains." He smiled softly and tossed a slopped salute at the blushing younger man. "I think you'll find that the mountains and the forest aren't so bad after all. I was born in the Maskwa Forest."</p><p>He let that little fact hit home as he spurred his horse in a gallop. If they were lucky, someone else would already be there with tea and a pot of thick, rich stew.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
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    <p>Aeryn winced when he saw what looked like a hovel made out of sheets of rusted tin tacked on top of the poured grey stone. That stone crumbled if you put too much pressure on it and it was nearly impossible to carve. Parts of it were even shot through with bars of rusted, corroded metal or even what looked like a wire mesh. Aeryn hated the stuff, but if you didn't have much to build with, that poured stone, robbed from the people who had abandoned it, worked quite well. Aeryn just thought that he wouldn't have seen it this far to the north. Juba was a big country. It was crossed by hundreds of miles of rivers and old paths filled with shards if some black substance. It froze in the winter and sliced at the draft animal's feet if they had to walk over it. The stuff didn't even burn well - if you got caught near the smoke, you might wind up dead.</p><p>"Are you sure this is safe?" Aeryn asked. He slid off Koda and winced a little when he saw the scattered black stone. "The smoke that comes off of this stuff will kill you if it gets the chance. I don't want to get burned, not this far from civilization."</p><p>One of the men, a lithe redhead dressed in colorful silks, leaned against the crooked door frame. A lean tan dog yapped, its fishhook tail wagging back and forth. The dog raced under the horses, barking its head off and yelping when Eyris bit at it. Alyra perched on the top of the little hovel, the rust streaks staining her claws a dirty, bloody red. The kestrel cocked her head. She stretched, like she was going to fly at someone, and lunged. A rat screamed as the kestrel struck it and tried to fight back. The redhead grabbed a broom and tried to shoo the animals off. There was another man in there with him, this one with soft, dark eyes and straight black hair like Mael's.</p><p>He smiled and stroked Koda's nose. "My name is Kileo. What's yours?"</p><p>"Aeryn." Aeryn smiled and stroked the mare's mane. She shifted some and flicked her ears, so Aeryn pushed Kileo's hands away. "We're going to Kayseri. Where are you going? What kind of horses do you have? Who are you with?"</p><p>Keilo shook his head, his dark hair flaring out behind behind him. He helped Aeryn put Koda in the pen behind the little hovel and petted a short black pony with a heavy mane as Koda trotted around. There was another pony there, too. This one had an upright black mane and a round pot belly, like it was from one of the islands in the far north. The tan dog rested under a bucket of water and scratched at an itch. There seemed to be something strange about the dog, like it wasn't very tame. Aeryn wished that he could get closer to the dog, but it growled softly and he jerked back. There was another dog - this one black and silver - and it only gave him a side eye before settling back under a rocky outcropping.</p><p>"I'm not really going with anyone," Kileo finally said. He shrugged and gave Aeryn a crooked smile. "I ride a tarpan mare - that's the black one. They're like the yilki, but smaller and smarter and you can't run them to death. The man with me calls himself Olson. He's a bit of a dick, though, and the sooner I leave him the better."</p><p>"Why don't you come with me?" Aeryn asked. "Well, me and Mael. We're going to Kayseri to meet someone named Kane. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind if you went along with me." He gave the younger man a crooked smile and kissed his lips a little. "Besides, you're cute and I've heard that all sorts of bad people roam these parts. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."</p><p>"My dogs," Kileo glanced back at the two mutts resting beside the horses, "keep me safe. But I'll have to think about your offer."</p><p>Aeryn shrugged. He glanced back towards the hovel and winced a little. He had no idea how many of these little way stations dotted these passes, but there had to be more than one. Mael had to know where all of them were, but Aeryn hadn't ever heard of them. He wondered what else he was missing. Education in the palace had been limited to reading, writing, and governance. The fighting only came because it was a tradition and even then Aeryn hadn't learned very much. Aeryn tried to shove those thoughts out of his head as he unpacked his saddlebags. Kileo had spread his own colorful blankets over the rocks behind the hovel and their colors seemed to glow in the sun.</p><p>Mael looked up from crouching over a fire. He was holding a pot of thick, bubbling stew and he gave Aeryn a wry smile. The pot looked like it was a fine bit of pottery and the rim was covered in a spiraling blue and white motif. It looked like a vine and flowers motif, along with some of the old writing that popped up around old, rusted monuments and half crumbled mountaintops. Kileo frowned some when he saw Olson and he moved behind Aeryn. Going by the bruise on Mael's face, there had already been a fight. Olson glowered like he had just gotten his ass kicked and he was dabbing a little bit of blood from a split lip and a black eye.</p><p>"Kileo's going with us," Aeryn said. He sat down around the hearth and reached for a plate of crusty bread. "I don't want him to get hurt and it looks like you already had fun with Olson."</p><p>"Define fun," Mael muttered. He glared at Olson and sighed softly. "I hate that man. I met him once when he was going after the camels near the Great Lakes. They were going to drive the animals off a cliff and drown them instead hunting them like a man." He rolled his eyes as he stabbed at the flickering fire. "Olson is a rare kind of bastard. He remembers things the way they were and he thinks that we should go back to that old way of doing."</p><p>"It worked for a thousand years," Olson growled. "Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's not the truth. You hated our lord first and that's why you killed him!"</p><p>Aeryn rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't think I want to know."</p><p>In the distance, something howled. Kileo's dogs barked and the horses cried out. They must have been running in their pen, because the sound of their hooves filled the air. Olson paused. He grabbed a flickering torch and thrust it out of the little hovel. A massive russet red wolf crouched just behind the treeline. It snarled softly, rearing back from the light. Aeryn could just see the golden gleam of its eyes as it paced through the thick undergrowth. The dogs snapped and snarled. They drew close to the little hovel, like they thought they belonged there. Kileo dashed out. He came back with all four horses and tried to gentle them. The little grey pony screamed and reared as it crossed into the hovel before dashing towards the others.</p><p>Mael grabbed his sword. "Dire wolves. Just the last thing we fucking need right now."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mael grabbed his sword and ventured out of the hovel. Dire wolves were annoying things - massive beasts the size of ponies with long, saliva colored fangs and glowing red gold eyes. They left humans alone most of the time, but pups were born in the dead of winter and the pack needed to eat. Mael hated those things. If they were as hungry as he thought they were, there was going to be no stopping them. Winter hadn't hit yet, of course, but the days were getting colder and the nights were drawing longer. The wolves had to be feeling the pressure. Mael would have left them alone if he could, but he was missing the long fanged white cats that kept the wolves at bay.</p><p>He stalked through the half light, careful to keep to the shadows. The dire wolf let out a huffing bark. It seemed to be the only beast there, which was a good thing, because Mael couldn't get rid of more. The thing darted through the underbrush. It turned around, clearly outlined in the moonlight. It was a massive beast, almost as big as the wild ponies, and its fur was a dense, dark grey color. The thing snapped at him. It was favoring its right front leg, like it was wounded there, and Mael could see the dried blood. The thing turned again, showing what looked like an arrow shaft. Mael swallowed some. The animal had already been hurt by humans. It was going to be so much harder to fight.</p><p>The wolf stepped over a bank of silver ferns, its body low to the ground. The thing moved like a ghost. It darted behind a copse of trees and crouched so that only its spine could be seen. Mael crouched down. He waited for the wolf to make its move. Those things weren't known for their patience and sooner or later, it would come looking for him. He didn't have to wait long. The wolf stood up and walked over what sounded like wet moss. It was clearly in pain and lost, which meant that it was going to be slower. Mael readied his sword. He didn't find things like this fun, but it had to be done. He pressed his back against a silvery aspen tree and waited. The wolf limped in front of him, its head raised and its eyes staring right into his.</p><p>Mael swallowed. He's never been this close to a dire wolf before and if he wanted, he could reach out and touch it. His ancestors had once kept those things as hunters and guardians, though those days had long since past. The thing just stood there, its wounded paw held off the ground and its tail curled just so. Mael didn't even dare to breathe. He reached out his hand without thinking and buried it in the beast's thick, dense fur. The animal started. It jerked back, like it was expecting to be attacked, and it gave a warning growl. Intelligence sparked in its red-gold eyes, though, and it tensed as he drew closer to it. Mael tucked his sword into his belt and held up his hands.</p><p>"Easy," he whispered. "<em>Easy</em>. I'm not gonna hurt you."</p><p>The wolf drew back some, like it was going to bolt. Mael had no idea what that thing was thinking, but he was willing to let it run away. It shivered some and great, fat drops of blood rolled off of its wounded leg and wet the moss. The wolf lowered its ears. It drew a little closer to him and butted his shoulder so hard that Mael almost fell over. He picked himself up quickly, brushing off the dead leaves and the thick, black muck.</p><p>"Hey, now!" Mael yelped. "That wasn't funny!"</p><p>The wolf flinched, but settled down as Mael ran his hands over its flank. It nudged him again. Going by the silvery scars that were etched across its pelt, it was used to fighting and had lived a hard life. Mael waited for it to get used to him before he dropped his hands lower and pulled at the arrow. The wolf growled at him, but it didn't move away. Mael swallowed. The only way to get an arrow out without causing an infection was to break it off and push the thing through. Usually, he narrated. Right now, when he was dealing with an animal, he didn't have that chance. Mael broke the shaft quickly and glanced up to the wolf. It was clearly scared, but braced itself.</p><p>The animal screamed when Mael pushed the arrow through. It jerked away and danced around, shaking its wounded paw and howling like the world had just ended.</p><p>Olson burst through the bushes and held up his sword. "What took you so long?!"</p><p>"Put that thing down before you hurt someone." Mael pushed the weapon down and sighed. "My ancestors used to keep their ancestors - called them the Ovcharka. I think it means something like "friend" or "protector". Anyway, after things went to hell, they wound up in the wild and I guess they turned into <em>that</em>." He pointed to the whimpering, wounded dire wolf. "I guess they remember that we used to let them sleep inside. I wouldn't like to meet one on a dark night, I'll tell you that. Hopefully, it'll leave. I don't think I'd like for it to come with me."</p><p>"Then kill it," Olson softly said.</p><p>"You know, I really don't like you," Mael replied. "Don't give me reason to cut your head off."</p><p>Olson paled and took a step back. "You<em> wouldn't</em>."</p><p>Mael grabbed his cheap, poor shirt and dragged him closer. "I'm a knight errant, sweetheart. I do whatever the hell I want and so does Aeryn. We're gonna go kill us some Ceit and there's nothing you can fucking do about it. And I don't like the way you're dragging around that Kileo kid, so I<em> really</em> don't like you. Don't give me reason to cut your head or leave you choking on your own blood."</p><p>"Don't kill me," Olson hissed. He shoved Mael away from him. "You won't live to regret it if you try."</p><p>Mael snorted and gestured to the slowly growling wolf. It stood up behind him like some kind of ferocious guardian angel and its hackle slowly raised. The thing growled like rumbling thunder. It gave that wolfish smile, one that promised all sorts of blood and pain later on. Olson reached for his sword. The wolf snapped at him. It lunged forwards. Mael stood in front of the snarling, snapping animal. He tried to stare the man down. Olson's sweaty face was creased and covered in old scars - it was clear that he was used to fighting and getting his ass kicked. Olson glanced at the two of them before he sheathed his sword and held up his hands. He backed up some, swallowing and glancing around.</p><p>"Three <em>cvani</em> will get you the boy," Olson whispered.</p><p>Mael tipped his chin up with the tip of his sword. "No," he replied. "The boy goes free and you get to keep your life. Otherwise, my little beastie here is going to eat you."</p><p>Olson nodded and stepped back. "Yeah, fine, whatever. Whatever you want. Just keep that beast away from me!"</p><p>Mael sheathed his sword. "I knew you would see it my way! Adnan, come with me. I want to show you the rest of my little band."</p>
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<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kileo glanced towards Aeryn as soon as they were alone. "Think you could get me away from him? He's a real dick and I don't like... like being owned by him. Juba's gone to hell ever since those stupid princes got themselves killed. I... He's hurt me. I would like to kill him."</p><p>Kileo looked so young that Aeryn's heart almost broke. He had known that slavery existed in the Far Islands, but who didn't? It was just one of those things that was written off as something the backwards rural folks did and there was no sense in trying to change things. Aeryn had been kept away from anything that might have exposed him to the harsh realities of Juba. When he had been captured and thrown out of his castle, he had crashed into a world that he didn't even know existed. It looked like Kileo had never had that option. His dark hair was tangled and matted and bruises showed under his dark copper skin. He stayed near the horses, especially the black pony.</p><p>"I'll think of something," Aeryn promised. He settled near the horses and started combing Koda's mane. "What's your pony's name, by the way? She looks cute."</p><p>"Midnight," Kileo softly replied. He sank down into a pile of hay and wrapped his arms around his knees. "I... she's the only thing I can trust right now. My brothers decided that they wanted my birth right, so they sold me to slavers and... and let them hurt me. I might not be the oldest, dammit, but I'm the one that knows what he's doing! Olson's the one that got me off them and he's a monster. I hope the fucking dire wolf eats him."</p><p>Aeryn sat beside him. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know any pretty words that might help Kileo feel better, nor did he know how to admit that he was one of the two stupid princes. He just sat there and watched as the fire burned merrily in its little ring. Outside, the sky darkened and rain slowly began to fall. Aeryn didn't know if that would make travel harder or not. He had fled Wolf Hall when it was taken by the Ceit and wound up in that border town. Kayseri wasn't a place that he was used too and these unnatural forests tended to scare him. They were just too green for too long. It was like they used some kind of magic to keep the winter chill at bay. Whatever it was, Aeryn didn't like it.</p><p>"I heard there was a warlord named Kileo," Aeryn lightly said. "I didn't think he was going to be a scared little boy. Mind of I try to comb your hair?"</p><p>Kileo shrugged and settled against him. He didn't seem to care that he shared the name of a powerful warrior, but then, why should he? Aeryn took a finely carved bone comb out of his knapsack. He prayed to anything that might hear him that Kileo wouldn't ask where it came from. It took a little time and a little water for it to work, but soon Aeryn was sliding the comb through Kileo's thick, black hair. It didn't curl like Mael's did when it got wet, but it did glisten like a raven's wing. Kileo seemed to be so young, like he hadn't even seen sixteen summers. Aeryn himself had seen nearly eighteen summers now and all but the last two of them had been heaven on earth.</p><p>The storm started to grow around the little hovel. The horses didn't seem to be bothered at all. They just drank out of the carved stone trough and nibbled on the fine stemmed hay. Aeryn knew little about the types of hay. He barely knew how to heat a pot of stew and keep the fire going. Maybe for the first time, he realized just how lacking his education had been. Kileo seemed to know how to cook and clean and care for himself. Aeryn was used to being waited on hand and foot. He was used to his every wish being indulged and to have someone almost read his mind. The hardest choice he had made before being on the streets happened to be what kind of soup he wanted with lunch.</p><p>Mael crashed through the door. He was soaked to the bone, his long black hair hanging in his eyes. His clothing was just as sodden. It clung to his bones like a second skin and his fine boots were filled with water. A massive silver-grey wolf stood behind him. It was scratched, like it had been in a fight, and it moved like some creature out of a fairy tale. The horses frozen. Then their ears went straight against their skulls and they started pulling at the long lines. Aeryn jumped up. He tried to quiet the horses, but he was almost struck by a flying hoof. The wolf stood there. It seemed to laugh at what was going on, like it enjoyed knowing that the horses were terrified of it.</p><p>Mael dropped his sword on a flat stone. "His name's Adnan. Kileo, you're going with us. We're heading to Kayseri."</p><p>Kileo nodded. He was just as small and still as a frightened grouse, like he thought that the man was going to set the hounds on him. Mael seemed to ignore it. He stripped naked and hung his wet clothes on various rusted metal hooks. He poured out as much water as he could before tossing his leather boots near the fire. Mael ignored them all. The wolf curled up beside him like it was some kind of perverse dog. Aeryn could see that the massive beast fully intended to protect Mael with its life. Aeryn had no idea why Mael had called it Adnan. The name meant "fiery" and he was pretty sure that a silver wolf wasn't something that might be considered fiery.</p><p>Most dire wolves were a dark red color with black points and a white throat. They looked rather like giant foxes, but that fox had thick, nasty fangs and the ability to rip flesh from bones.</p><p>"Kayseri?" Kileo asked. "Is there a way that I could get back to the sandmere, please?"</p><p>Mael shrugged and covered himself with a brightly woven saddle blanket. "Nope. We're not going that way, not at all. And I don't think I can just let you go in the forest. I have no idea where Olson fucked off to, but I'm not going to chase him down. He's free to get himself killed or wounded if he wants to go out that way."</p><p>Aeryn just nodded. He didn't know what else to say or how to tell Kileo that he was the surviving Lion of Juba.</p>
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<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mael rather liked these little hovels. They might have been small and tucked in out of the way places, but there was just something wild about them - something that carried the forest through to wherever they were. Everyone was expected to furnish things for the next guest. A potter might leave new pots made from river clay and a brewer might leave the seeds for a strong brew. Hunters might leave meat that they salted and nearly everyone tended to the little gardens ringed by spelled and stone fences. Mael wasn't sure what he was going to leave - he didn't have very much, to be honest - so he settled for taking out his sewing kit and started mending the colorful Dine' blankets that had been left ages ago.</p><p>The fire crackled in the little pit, casting shadows all over the horses. They dozed in their little stalls, hooves cocked and heads down. Aeryn hadn't even bothered tying them to the railing or locking them in. Adnan was curled up close to the fire - not so close that he would be singed, but close enough that he was warm. Aeryn and Kileo had curled up on a pile of hay and covered themselves in thick blankets. They looked so young, so innocent, that Mael felt ashamed for the life he was leading them on. They deserved better that what he could give them. Aeryn was a prince - he deserved to be wrapped in fine silks and cossetted, not dragged across the Juban wilderness - and Kileo deserved to be living his best life in the sandmere.</p><p>Mael smiled as he imagined it. Perhaps he could drive camels like so many of his kin did and even tame a wild thing like the Red Ghost. He glanced over at Kileo again, noting the younger man's fine features and the way his chest rose and fell as he slept. Mael had no idea how young he was. These forests did strange things to men, making it nearly impossible to tell how old or young a man might really be. Besides, he was willing. Mael wasn't going to turn down a willing lover. He wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to push someone away just because he didn't know every last detail about their life. That would be insane - something that had been tried before the Collapse.</p><p>Or so he had been told. Mael didn't know for sure. The stories he had heard were just as lurid and wild as any tale told around a campfire. The story of the Red Ghost was one.</p><p>Mael looked over at Adnan and scratched his head. "Would you mind if I told you a story?"</p><p>The wolf gave him a long look and then put his heavy head on his silver paws. He seemed to be used to humans, like he had been raised by them. Mael had heard of that happening. Some people were just crazy enough to kidnap a dire wolf pup. If you had a fast enough horse and a good enough rider, it was easy to nab a pup or three. Some riders even took their horses through swamps to throw the other off the scent or even put the pups on a salt canoe while they sacrificed some old nag by tying a urine soaked shirt to its back. The wolf would attack the nag while the canoe took the pups and rider down river. Maybe that had happened to Adnan. In fact, it had to have happened - Mael had never heard of a dire wolf breeding in captivity.</p><p>"There used to be a wild beast called the Red Ghost," Mael softly said. He poked the crackling fire and adjusted the ring of soot covered stones so there was better air flow. "Down in the sandmere, they have these things called camels. Once, they were brought over from a far away place to pull heavy loads and survive where a horse couldn't. Anyways, there was a war and those animals were drafted. One of the riders was shot while he was still on the Red Ghost's back! Now, that thing used to be named something like Clyde, but it took off as soon as the rider was wounded and it started to charge up and down the countryside, terrorizing anything that got in its way.</p><p>"It killed a woman, just because it wanted too. The other camels drove it away because they thought the dead man strapped to its back would draw wolves and cougars and even a jaguar or two. The ropes holding the saddle cut deep into its skin, filling it with infection and making it crazy with pain. It took on a group of miners, so they shot at it. The thing bucked and reared and when it did, a human skull fell right off! Another time, someone tried to catch it to cut it free of al that shit on its back. It nearly killed him and his horse, though, and no one saw it for years. Then one day, it picked the wrong man to harass. He pulled out his fancy six shooter - whatever that is - and shot it clean between the eyes!"</p><p>Kileo sat up and gave Mael a long look. "Then he found the rest of the skeleton, where it had grown into the camel's back, and when he touched the side, it was alive with maggots! You missed the part where it had glowing red eyes, by the way. Or that the dead man strapped to its back came alive when the moon was full."</p><p>"Thanks for ruining it," Mael muttered. "Adnan was enjoying it."</p><p>"Adnan is a glorified dog." Kileo got up and draped himself with one of the colorful wool blankets. He smiled sadly. "I know what village this came from, you know. I don't know how to say the words because that wasn't my tribe and wasn't my language, but it was something like Galilhai Chooli. It's supposed to be "gentle mountain". You can see it in the pattern."</p><p>"I see." Mael really didn't. He wasn't quite sure where Kileo was from or why he was talking about a tribe. "So you're from the sandmere, huh? How the hell did you get all the way out here?"</p><p>"I was sold." Kileo looked away and sighed softly. "My... brothers decided that they wanted the land I was born into. I'm not a prince or anything like that. I'm just a duke, but I have water rights to a good part of the Gila River. We don't have much in the way of land, you understand, just a few thousand acres. We mostly have sheep and goats and many of them. The camels are used for riding and draft work."</p><p>"Why not horses?" Mael gestured to the snoring horses.</p><p>"They drink too much water," Kileo replied. "Besides, camels are stronger. They can carry heavier carts up the sides of the mountain where a horse or ox would fall. Then, you lose the horse <em>and</em> the cargo! Or it dies of thirst and everyone dies. Camels, though, are easier. They can dig for water like a burro." He smiled softly. "I had a white camel. His name was Taysee and we rode as often as I could. Riding a horse is... well, I don't like it as much."</p><p>"I see." Mael put aside his sewing and glanced to a pile of turnips and onions. Someone needed to string them before they rotted. "I'm going to crash. Would you like to join me?"</p><p>Kileo nodded shyly and smiled when Mael found himself a nice bit of hay. Aeryn curled into his other side and Adnan made a nice pillow. Mael smiled softly. If this wasn't living, he didn't know what was.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aeryn woke up before the other two did and gloried in being held. It felt so right, so natural to be pressed against another man or two. Aeryn hadn't ever gotten to do this before - as a prince, his virginity was paramount. Now that the kingdom was gone, though, he was free to sleep around as much as he wanted. Maybe that was why he wanted to stay in this little pile forever. Mael held him from behind, his cheek pressed against Aeryn's back and his arms wrapped around Aeryn's body. He was a warm, solid weight, something that Aeryn would never get tired of. Kileo had wrapped around Aeryn's front. He was sound asleep and his chest rose and fell with every breath.</p><p>On impulse, Aeryn kissed him. Kileo smiled and squirmed some, but still stayed asleep. His face was a little dirty under his tan and his eye lashes were thick and dark. He was the second most beautiful man that Aeryn had ever seen. There was something innocent about him and it reminded Aeryn of himself. In a way, Aeryn was still that innocent. Mael was the only man he had ever been with and it was probably going to stay that way. Aeryn didn't know what would happen if he decided to spend quality time with Kileo. Was Mael the jealous type? The type that would slap a man black and blue for daring to love another? Aeryn wasn't sure he wanted to find out the hard way. As much as he liked Kileo, at least aesthetically, it just wasn't worth it.</p><p>Adnan suddenly jerked his head up. The big dire wolf got up and lumbered his way towards the door. That beast wasn't anything near graceful, but what he lacked in grace, he made up for in raw power. The wolf growled softly. He pawed at the warped and silvery wood like he wanted to go out, so Aeryn got up and unlatched the door. He let the horses into their corral and kicked the ice off the wind driven pump so it would bring up ground water. It had frosted overnight and the world glittered with a thousand shards of diamond. The pile of fodder that the horses loved attacking was covered in a thin layer of ice and the springs beside the little hovel had iced over as well.</p><p>Aeryn had never seen something so beautiful.</p><p>A man with blonde hair leading a white horse struggled up the path. "Hey! Are any of you friendly?"</p><p>"Who are you?!" Aeryn yelled. He was suddenly glad for Adnan and watched as the massive wolf trotted over. "What do you want with us?!"</p><p>"Easy, easy," the man sighed. A web of scarring covered his face and he held his right arm awkwardly like it was hurting him. "Where I come from, we don't set giant wolves on people and we don't tend to kill people on sight unless they've done something really fucking bad. My name is Trever, by the way. Lukas Trever. Most folks call me Trever. Especially here, because apparently having two names isn't a thing."</p><p>Aeryn didn't quite understand what any of that was about, but apparently it made sense wherever Trever was from. He was wearing some kind of green wool uniform with a red trim. The color was brighter and richer than anything Aeryn had ever seen before. His eyes were the color of blue sea glass. Or, well, one of them was. The other was a milky white color and a large scar bisected it. Trever walked with a limp, favoring his right leg, and he stroked that horse like she was the only friend he had in the world. She was far bigger than the other horses, especially Kileo's little black pony. Trever's mare was simply the biggest horse Aeryn had ever seen and he had ridden Warlander stallions since he was a child.</p><p>"What kind of horse do you have?" Aeryn asked. He kicked the ice out of the feed trough and watched as the massive mare plodded her way over. "I've never seen a horse her size before, nor with her feathering. She's very beautiful and I think I would like to have one like her."</p><p>"Thanks." Trever sat on the wall and shivered some. "She's a Poitou. They're draft horses. We use them to pull dust bins, mostly, and sometimes we ride them. I'm not a good rider and she seemed like the only horse that wouldn't throw me, plus she was the only other one I could afford. I'm not going to ride a half broken colt when I don't walk so well. If I got thrown, it might kill me."</p><p>"I'm sure that would be a great loss," Aeryn muttered.</p><p>"It would be to me!" Trever yelped. "I would rather miss my life, even I didn't know where the hell I was!"</p><p>Aeryn rolled his eyes. "You're in Juba. Somewhere on the road to the Kayseri forest. You can ride with us if you don't have anything better to do. We're going to meet some bandit lord - I think his name is Kane or something like that - and I would like to have another friendly face or two. It's going to be a hard ride, though, especially if you don't walk real good. We're going to have to cover some real rough ground and I don't know if that big horse of yours can handle it. I don't want anyone to get hurt on my account."</p><p>Trever shrugged. "Moon's a good horse. I'm gonna be fine, I promise."</p><p>He smiled and pain crossed his face. Aeryn wondered what the man's story was and how he had gotten all the way out here without knowing it. Juba was a big country. It was one of the largest on the continent and covered everything from a desert to a temporal rain forest. Aeryn thought it was the most beautiful place that he had ever seen. Ruling Juba was supposed to be akin to taking the world and if one could do that, then, there was no one else that could stop you. Aeryn didn't want to think about the Ceit being unleashed on everyone else. Maybe it would be better if the Ceit stayed here and he ran with Mael, Kileo, and Trever for the rest of the world.</p><p>Aeryn smiled softly. Mael was going to like another helping hand, he thought, especially if it belonged to a pretty man like Trever.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mael woke up with a mouthful of hair and the door wide open. He muttered something under his breath and wrapped his leather overcoat around himself. It was too cold for this bullshit. If he had his way, he would have stayed wrapped up in that pile of hay with Kileo and - Wait. Where was Aeryn? Mael groaned softly as he got up. Now he knew why the door was wide open. Aeryn had decided to go on a morning stroll and forgot that if he left the door open, everyone was going to get cold. Mael muttered something nasty under his breath as he got up to close everything up. The temperature would rise with the sun, but right now it was fucking cold. Adnan must have needed to go to the bathroom, because he was nowhere to be seen.</p><p>A blonde man walked towards them. "Hey. I just met Aeryn - I think I need to meet you and whoever else you're traveling with. The name is Trever."</p><p>"Mael Tanyo." Mael stuck out his hand and winced when the man just looked at it. Maybe this was a First Nations thing, then. "You're supposed to shake it, stupid. I see you've met Aeryn and Adnan. Kileo is sleeping the sleep of the newly freed and those who have stolen my favorite cloak. What exactly can you do and why are you here? I don't want dead weight on this trip."</p><p>Trever winced. "I used to be able to fly, but I don't think that's a thing here. I just... woke up here."</p><p>"You should have stayed in the WildWood," Mael muttered. It was common for people to just show up in the WildWood with no idea of how they got there and Mael wished Trever had stayed there. "Look. I don't know nothing about flying unless you're the prettiest witch the world has ever seen. If you wanna give me a jar of flying ointment, I'll be more than happy to pay you for it. Just as long as you don't blab this all over the kingdom - last thing I want is for them to think that <em>I'm</em> a witch." He smiled wryly as he looked at the slightly nervous man. "What? Don't like me calling me a witch? Then what exactly are you?"</p><p>"I was a pilot." Trever glanced back to his heavy white mare and then to the steaming hot spring. "You know, I could really use a bath. It's been a long time since I could go swimming, too."</p><p>Mael thought about it for a moment before he walked down to the edge of the bank and stripped off. He really was dirty and if he was a better man, he would get Aeryn and Kileo to join him, but he wanted to have a little fun with this Trever first. As much as he liked the younger men, it was nice to have someone he could meet on his level. Mael wondered if he could have a harem when he became king or if they were going to be the talk of the kingdom in a bad way. Mael didn't care two wits, but he was pretty sure that Aeryn would. Kileo was probably just another street rat, so he was used to having sex with anything that moved as long as they would pay him.</p><p>Trever stripped down to his skivvies and stepped into the water. The carpet really did match the drapes from what Mael could see and he grinned when the man draped himself over the hard rocks. Trever sighed and closed his eyes. His chest was covered in scars, though there was a weirdly knotted gash on his right wrist. It was like he had been caught with knotted wire or something or the gods had seen fit to touch him in some strange way. Mael wanted to talk to him, wanted to kiss over those scars and see if Trever had a nice dick to go with those lean, strong muscles. Mael was a lean man himself, he never really did put on muscle like Trever did. And that made Mael want to lick it and kiss it and make it his.</p><p>He settled down beside Trever and wrapped his arms around Trever's shoulders. "You're real handsome, you know? Real handsome."</p><p>"Thank you?" Trever asked. He squirmed a little. "You know, all I wanted to do was get a bath, right? Not let a naked guy paw at me? Did that thought ever cross your mind? My folks don't do casual sex like this and, besides, there's someone off of this cursed planet that's waiting on me. I would like to find her."</p><p>Mael didn't get that and let it slide right off his shoulders. "When in Petra, do as Petrans do. Besides, I'm here and I'm willing, though it's been awhile since I've taken anything up the ass."</p><p>Several months, in fact. It was going to make riding painful, but he was more than willing to do it. Mael settled against the man's lap and kissed him softly. Trever gasped. His lips were dry and chapped, like he wasn't used to kissing, but he parted them obediently after a few minutes. Mael kissed him deeply. He ran his hands all over that tight, toned body and grinned when Trever stirred under him. The man looked up at him with hot, bright blue eyes and the next kiss was hard and almost bloody. Mael groaned softly and gave in. He wanted this - wanted to feel like he was dominated. It was a holdover from his pit fighting days when pleasure and pain were the only things he knew.</p><p>Trever surged up and dumped him on his ass. "I said I wasn't interested, you horny asshole!"</p><p>Mael bobbed back up and gave Trever a dirty look. "What? I'm not your type, is that what you're saying? Do you like - "</p><p>"I like you, but this isn't the time." Trever reached over to his nicely folded clothes and came back with a cake of plain white soap. "Here. Get yourself washed and do something with that dick of yours. If this is how you greet everyone, I'm glad I'm not in the mood, because the last thing I want to do is get the clap from some horny pervert."</p><p>"I resent that remark," Mael grumbled. He sighed, though, and took the cake from the other man. "It's been a long time, though. And I like the way you look."</p><p>"Thanks, but I'm not interested." Trever climbed back up on the bank and started to dry himself off. "Look. Where I come from, men don't exactly have sex with each other and if they do, they don't shout it to the world. That's the kind of thing that could get you killed or arrested." He sighed and winced when he looked at the skivvies he was wearing. "Great. These are wet and now they're going to get my pants soaked. And if I'm gonna be riding all day, the last thing I wanna do is make my saddle sores worse than they already are."</p><p>"We can stay an extra day." Mael dried himself off and dressed quickly. At least it was getting warm now. "We need to wash the laundry anyways."</p><p>Trever looked pretty grateful and he at least had the grace to blush when Mael threw a pair of homespun drawers at him. He tried not to watch when Trever undressed behind a rocky outcropping, but it really was hard. He wanted to see that dick. He wanted to suck that dick, but first things first. They needed to get to Kayseri first, <em>then</em> they could have sexy fun times.</p><p>Mael hated having priorities.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
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    <p>Aeryn loved holding Kileo. He also loved having a warm fire in the morning so they could have a hot breakfast. That meant that he had to get out of the bed, wrap himself up in the blanket, and get the flint and tinder to spark. Aeryn made the hay bundles that would make the fire start that much faster. He shaved off a little bit of fat root for the fire and settled it in between the hay nest. Then, he needed to find the flint and the steel and get a spark for the fire. He dragged the flat rock they were using for a cooking surface over beside the fire for it to heat up. Then Aeryn crouch beside the fire and started fiddling with the two magic rocks to get the fire started.</p><p>Kileo rolled over and made an adorable sleeping sound. "Hey. Why's my bed cold?"</p><p>"Because the fire went out," Aeryn replied. He blew on the gently glowing embers and smiled as the flames slowly started flickering up the rocks. "We need to eat and I don't want to enjoy it cold. Would you peel the leeks for the pottage, please? We'll need some bacon, too, and the hulled oats. The horses can enjoy the hay and their broken up water trough. I just want the fire to start."</p><p>Kileo rolled his eyes as he wrapped one of the saddle blankets around himself. He did look cold. If he truly was from the desert, he wasn't going to be used to the freezing cold nights. The little hovel was nice, but it would also get cold at night. It wasn't nearly as cold as the Witch's Wood, of course, but it was still going to be rough. That was probably why Kileo looked like a fluffed up little bird as he perched on the pile of hay. The day would gradually warm, of course, and dry up the frost and ice, but it was still quite cold and probably miserable. Aeryn blew on the fire just a little bit more and fed it a few more shavings from the slice of fat root. The resin melted on his fingers. Aeryn smiled and watched as it dribbled all over his fingers.</p><p>"I love the way it smells," Aeryn softly said. "When I was in the palace, they never let me start the fire. I was the prince - not the crown prince, of course, but still one of the princes. My brother was the heir and I was... well, my job was to get married and marry well. But I guess that's gone to the wayside because the Ceit are here and there's no need for the Lion of Juba anyway."</p><p>Kileo nodded. He rested beside Aeryn and watched as the fire licked its way across the logs. Soon, the little hovel was warmed up and Kileo dropped the blanket down beside him. They cuddled beside each other for the longest time and watched how the fire burned brightly. Fire really was so beautiful. The fire that had burnt through the castle had never been this pretty - it had been a wild, rough looking thing that had ripped through the castle that killed and collapsed half of the stonework. That fire had been terrifying and evil, yet this was so warm and inviting. Aeryn glanced down at his resin covered hands. His people were supposed to be descended from dragons and, as such, fire didn't harm them.</p><p>Aeryn shrugged and shoved his hand in the fire. Kileo grabbed at him and yelled, but Aeryn stood there and watched as the fire slowly grew over his hands. It was blue white, like what he would expect a dragon would breathe, but it didn't hurt. In fact, it felt like he had plunged his hands into a bath of warm milk. Aeryn smiled softly as he turned his hand over. The fire crawled up his arms and towards his shirt. It never changed in color, just stayed the white blue that it always was. Aeryn smiled softly as he closed his fist. When he opened it again, the fire sprang back fully formed. Aeryn glanced over to Kileo. The young man looked like he was terrified, like he thought Aeryn was going to burn to death.</p><p>"What the hell are you <em>doing</em>?!" Mael yelled. He charged into the little hovel and grabbed the water bucket. "Kileo! Get away from him!"</p><p>"Why?" Aeryn asked. He stood up and watched as the fire blossomed around him. "Isn't it beautiful?"</p><p>"No, no it isn't!" Mael yelled. "Trever! Get the water bucket! We gotta put the this guy out!"</p><p>Aeryn looked at him like he was crazy and then he screamed when three buckets of water up ended over his head. Of course, it was warm water that came from the hot springs, but it was still water and the fire that blossomed around him sputtered and died. Aeryn stared at the two of them like they had just betrayed him. And, in a way, they had. He had wanted the fire to hold him like a lover, like Mael loved him. He wanted Kileo to love him, too, and maybe Trever. Trever stared at him like there was something very wrong with him and Aeryn wondered why they were scared of him. Aeryn glanced at his hands. He didn't see any burns and his clothing looked fine.</p><p>"What's wrong?" Aeryn asked.</p><p>"Why aren't you burned?" Trever finally asked.</p><p>Aeryn shrugged and smiled softly. "I'm supposed to be descended from dragons. And everyone knows that dragons don't burn when they meet fire."</p><p>Trever looked at Mael. "Okay, you guys are crazy. If I actually knew where I was going, I would be fucking off right about now. But since I don't and you do... Mael, people in my world don't just stick their hands in the fire and not get burned. It just doesn't happen."</p><p>Aeryn smiled softly. "Well, I'm already the Lion of Juba. I might as well be a dragon, too."</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
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    <p>Almost everyone who said they were borne from dragons was lying. When they tried to prove it, they died. Painfully. Self immolation was one of the most painful ways for anyone to go and there were fools who really would try to take a dip in molten gold or walk through fire because they thought they were dragons. The Silver Prince had been one of the first ones to try it. He had survived, of course, but he hadn't looked the same afterwards. His beautiful features had been ruined by the burns and any heirs he might have been able to sire were nipped in the bud, so to speak. The line had died with him which, seeing as the Silver Prince was mad, it was no large loss.</p><p>"So I had no idea that reptiles and humans could have babies," Trever brightly said. He took Aeryn's hands and looked him over. "But he doesn't look like he's going to start popping out wings and a nasty looking tail. He looks... human? Which is really weird, because I thought that he would have green skin or something."</p><p>"I'm human." Aeryn grinned and rubbed up on the man like he wanted to get fucked. "I'm very, very human. And I have human wants and desires and right now, I want to know you."</p><p>Mael rolled his eyes. He was going to ignore the fact that he had wanted to do much the same thing with Trever, but it wasn't fair that some spoiled brat of a prince was going to get what he wanted. Mael shook his head. The little prince was his ticket to a much better life and he needed to remember that. At least he wasn't going to get Kileo in on things. That might have been a little much and even a knight errant like Mael had his limits. So he just sighed and started to get the tack ready. The horses nuzzled him, like they understood that he was upset, and he tried not to scratch them too hard. The white mare - Moon - just ignored them. She was truly massive and had hooves the size of dinner plates. The little black pony, on the other hand, was less than a quarter of the size.</p><p>"I think we need to get some new horses. I think we're a traveling circus!" Mael quipped.</p><p>Trever cleared his throat as he walked over. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but I'm not interested in sex with anyone right now. I've... it's been hard. I lost the only person that I've ever loved and I don't think I can replace her with two guys I just let in the woods. Not that I'm not interested in guys, but I just got out of a seriously invested relationship by winding up here."</p><p>Mael nodded as he saddled up the horses. They nuzzled him and Koda even licked him. Mael smiled softly. He rubbed the wolf's head before he went to get Kileo out of bed. That kid could sleep through anything, but he was young enough that he needed it. Mael just sat there beside him, watching as the younger man tossed in his sleep. He looked much younger than he really was, Mael thought, and there wasn't much an evil man wouldn't do if they found him. Maybe that had already happened to him. Maybe that was why he was so skittish and why he liked Aeryn so much. Not that Mael hadn't had some nasty thoughts - he blamed that on the boy whores he had met at the Lakaio Docks - but he had never acted on them.</p><p>Apparently, someone had.</p><p>Trever was waiting for them both by a cook fire. "I would like to get something to eat before we head out. What exactly do you guys fix that isn't pottage and eternal soup?"</p><p>"Parched corn?" Mael asked. He did grin a little. "We need to cut a little wood, too. It's always nice to leave a little after you've taken some."</p><p>"Back in my world, this would have been picked clean within a few months," Trever replied. He still filled a pot of water and helped start a fire. "Not that I don't like the way you guys do things, though. It feels nicer this way. And I don't think that there's even the technology for you to try and poison the entire world."</p><p>"One - what's technology? And two - why the fuck would you want to poison the world you live on? Wouldn't that just be suicide with extra steps?" Mael asked. He found the sack of corn and added a few handfuls to the simmering water. "Do you see any leeks around here? What about a little bacon or something to flavor it with? I hate plain corn."</p><p>"I have no idea," Trever replied. "I don't even know how to cook."</p><p>That much could be seen. Trever had no idea how to fashion a stir stick - he didn't know that the stick needed to be stripped instead of just stuck in the pot - and Mael had to slap his hand away. They sat together on a rock and Mael slowly carved a stir stick from an ash branch. They didn't say anything else for the longest time, just watched as the pot bubbled. Aeryn showed up after a few minutes and sat on the grass. Kileo followed him, petting Adnan as he did so. Mael had no way of getting everyone a bowl, so he just distributed cleaned clam shells and waited. Parched corn took its sweet time to cook, especially if someone had just dumped a few handfuls of apples and a little more onions.</p><p>Trever made a face. "Apples <em>and</em> onions? Couldn't you have just picked one?"</p><p>Kileo made another face. "But I love apples and onions? They make the best pastry fillings!"</p><p>"They look gross," Trever muttered. "I don't know if it's going to taste good, but it's sure going to be interesting. Eating with clam shells out of a big old pot. It's like something I read in an old adventure book!"</p><p>"At least you can read," Mael muttered.</p><p>Aeryn jerked his head up. "You can't read?"</p><p>Mael sighed and started eating the surprisingly sweet stew. "Let's just eat our breakfast so we can leave, please?"</p><p>He actually meant this one. Not everyone was given the chance the two princes and the stranger did.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
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    <p>Aeryn liked this stranger, even if he wasn't sure why the man was there. He didn't know that there were others world and he had the feeling that Trever had no idea how to explain it, either. Mael wasn't going to be any help. Aeryn couldn't even ask Rowan what that might mean, because Rowan was probably dead. It frustrated the younger man and he wanted to throw his bowl in the fire. Life just wasn't <em>fair</em> - first the Ceit took his family away and now he was stuck with some kind of problem he couldn't hope to understand by himself. Aeryn didn't know how to ask the question. Before, he could have gone down to the gardens of reflection and asked the sages, but now he couldn't.</p><p>He was stuck in the woods and there was no way for him to get a book. Aeryn glanced up and eyed their ragged little band. Trever looked like he had seen hell and back. Kileo had been dragged through chaos knew what and he acted it by huddling up and trying to look as small as he could. Mael was Mael - he was always bucking for a fight and it dripped off of his skin. Aeryn wondered what he looked like. Was he tired? Thin? Sallow? Like a faded piece of silk tapestry? Aeryn wanted to tell them that silk was just as strong as burlap - it just needed to be given the chance and it could make just as nice a rope as any bit of corded hemp. It just had to be given the chance, that was all.</p><p>"It's time to go." Aeryn shoved a sword in his belt and grabbed up the horses. "We're wasting daylight and I'm not going to the Kayseri Forest unless there's a good, strong sun at my back."</p><p>Trever looked up. "Why?"</p><p>"Because that's where the brigands are," Mael sighed. He mounted his mare and grinned when the others did the same. "Not that I might not know about being a brigand myself - there is a big difference between being a knight errant and being a brigand. For one, I'm not going to chop your head off for looking at me. I'm not going to steal your things or hurt your horses. I'm just going to do my job, steal a kingdom, and marry a prince." He grinned and blew a kiss at Aeryn's direction. "That's where we're going and I don't mind if you want to split. The Kayseri is dangerous, even at the best of times, and I don't want to drag someone who doesn't know what he's getting into."</p><p>"I think I'm going to be just fine," Trever smiled.</p><p>Aeryn was a little scared, but he kept his mouth shut. He had never thought that Juba would be so big - that there was more land here than one could see in a thousand lifetimes. He had just known the city and even that had been restricted to the palace. Aeryn remembered when his father had talked about an enemy coming across from across the sea, but Aeryn had just thought it was a problem for the Aleuts. The islands weren't really a part of Juba - they really just traded at times and the Jubans did try to protect their smaller allies. It might not have been in the Aleuts' best interests, but at least there wasn't outright slavery. Well, Aeryn hoped they did. He had never met an Aleutian and asked them.</p><p>The valley around them was covered in a thick carpet of green. Adnan romped in a thick patch of vetch-vine and his fur was soon coated in the multi hued flowers. Crow's eyes and painted blankets covered the valley floor in their blue and red-gold hues. The wild roses were blooming, along with the beetle trees, and the air was filled their heady scents. A creek trickled over moss covered boulders and little willow trees grew over the banks. Aeryn had never seen something this beautiful before. He didn't even know that there might be this many shades of green in the world, or that the canyon walls might be scarred with the wounds of floods long past.</p><p>There was a world far away from the city that he had been confined to - a world full of beauty, a world full of birds and creeks and flowers.</p><p>Aeryn stopped Koda beside a patch of flowers and picked a few of them. Mael gave him a very long look, but he didn't say anything when Aeryn wove them into a crown and placed it on his head. Aeryn smiled softly. This was one of his roles back home - wearing flower crowns and prancing in the city parades. They saw him as an incarnation of the gods. The god of spring - the young god Ky-siah - with his silver hair and the beautiful robes that swamped his body. Ku-siah rode a little donkey colt and carried a lamb in his arms. It was a beautiful ritual - there was no pain, no death involved - but the Ceit had outlawed it. The last Aeryn had heard, all of the priests had been killed.</p><p>Aeryn had never seen so much beauty before. The silver and gold palace he was used too seemed tawdry compared to the sky that sprawled overhead and the massive canyon walls that stretched up to meet it. It was like he was trapped in a place where the laurel covered walls seemed to scratch the sky. Water splashed down them and filled the air with their spray. Rainbows stretched across the sky and filtered the light as the sun struck them. Aeryn thought that he was walking in a place from a dream, not reality. He was used to tawdry effects made of silver, gold, silk, and crystal, but the world around him made all of that look pale and cheap.</p><p>"I think I want to live here," Aeryn whispered.</p><p>Mael slowed his spotted horse and sighed. "Why?"</p><p>"It's beautiful." Aeryn smiled softly and picked a trumpet flower for Mael. "I can see why my ancestors met the dragons here. You get so tired of living in a guilded cage, but going outside of it is... well, I've never done it before. I just didn't know that the world was so <em>big</em>."</p><p>"Yeah," Mael sighed. He took the flower and looked at it like he didn't know what it was for. "Not that I would object to living in a palace, mind you. It would be nice to have a roof over your head when it's pouring rain."</p><p>Aeryn shook his head and spurred Koda on. Mael didn't understand - he <em>couldn't</em> understand. As far as Aeryn knew, Mael had never lived in a cage, so he wouldn't know what it was like to be freed from one.</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
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    <p>Thick thick forest seemed to crowd them as they rode into the Kayseri. Alyra found him after a little bit and perched on his shoulder as they started into the thick, dense forest. Mael resisted the urge to pet the bird - he knew that she didn't like that and she might bite him if he tried too much. Adnan splashed through a creek after a minute and he wrested with a thick, nasty looking eel. The dire wolf won and he dragged the sickly yellow thing on the bank to let it die. Trever looked like he wanted to put a stop to the fighting, but Mael ignored it. He wasn't going to stop a dire wolf from acting as a dire wolf - to do so would invite nothing bit trouble. Trever was just going to have to get used to it.</p><p>The thick crown of live oaks spread and interlocked to block out the sky. Thick vines, some flowering, hung from the branches and trailed across the ground. Some of the trees were covered in bits of glowing moss while others grew in the middle of thick, rushing streams. Bits of polished marble glittered at the edges of the streams, along with bits of rusted metal or even a little tarnished silver. A little bit of colored glass were embedded in the stream bed. Some even clung to the thick rush beds. Others were embedded in the wild rose vines. Other wildflowers grew in thick, wild beds and filled the air with their heady scent. There were even a few patches of ruins, though those had been reduced to little more than piles of rubble and rotting wood now.</p><p>Two riders on sleek, black horses came charging up the path. Mael's mare reared a little bit and Adnan growled. One of them brandished his sword at the wolf in an attempt to drive him back. Adnan snapped at him even more. He acted like he was going to charge the man, but soon Trever clapped his hands, the big wolf dropped back and stood beside the man. The big white mare jumped around some like she wasn't used to big dogs, but she settled down after a minute. Kileo's little black pony jumped around some. He wrestled with that little animal for a second until one of the other riders grabbed its reins and wrestled it back under control. The riders were dressed in tanned and boiled leather and little else. Their horses were a wild forest breed and what little tack they had was old and patched.</p><p>Mael grinned. "Are you Kane's riders?"</p><p>The first one quickly dismounted his horse. "And what does it matter to you if we are? What are you - the king's men?!"</p><p>"I didn't know that the king was hiring rogues and brigands like us," Mael mildly said. He gestured to Aeryn, complete with hokey flower crown and petting Adnan. "Does that look like a proper knight to you? What about the man on a cart horse? The last time I checked, the knights of the realm didn't hire people like us. They want people who actually hold the knightly values."</p><p>"Yeah," the second one growled. "Values like hurting people and stealing from the locals!"</p><p>Mael rolled his eyes. "Alright, check that. The knights sound like jerks and I'm not going to change that. No, I'm going to ask for Kane. You see, the blonde idiot with the flower crown was the second prince of Juba. The one on the little black pony is one of the dukes from the sandmere and I have no idea what the other one is beyond someone who thinks that men can fly to the moon and back. Now, tell me, do we look like Ceit to you?"</p><p>The first one snorted. "Yeah, if they were Ceit, pigs could fly."</p><p>Trever cleared his throat. "Actually - "</p><p>"Shut up." Mael gestured to the man and turned back to the knights. "Sorry about that one. He's been hit in the head a few times. Battle fatigue. I think he got his horse stolen, the poor thing. We just nod and smile when he starts talking about falling through worlds and people who fly through the air like they were birds. Anyways. My idea is that we would work with you to get Juba back and then we would give you a nice slice of the pie. Say... the Kayseri Forest. Maybe some of the mountains. Any place that you want, within reason."</p><p>"I don't think Kane would like to be a vassal," the second softly said. "My name is Kiloss and my partner there is Wolfheart."</p><p>Mael took the names in stride. "Well, Wolfheart and Kiloss, take me to your leader."</p><p>Trever guided his mare up to Mael's and grabbed the other man's collar. "I am not crazy!"</p><p>"Well..." Mael shrugged. "People don't fly, no matter how many times you might have hit your head."</p><p>Trever looked like he was going to say something, but he just rolled his eyes. He just followed the other two. They seemed to know this little forest inside and out and they took trails that were thinner than a fine silken thread. Mael passed by a large filled with golden flowers. People were gathering the buds for whatever reason and carting everything to a pair of grazing mules. Another clearing had an orchard where early plums were heavy on the branches. Here and there, little houses were tucked beside trickling brooks and large, spreading trees. Several people had herds of black deer. Some of those deer had beautifully woven collars on their necks, while others looked like they were fresh from the wild.</p><p>Mael had been expecting some rough and ready camp. The Kayseri wasn't known for being any great bastion of culture - that much he knew - but he wasn't expecting a large stone keep surrounded by cottages and a low wooden palisade. Several homes had been butted up against the wall, their roofs covered with reeds and old straw. Long haired dogs lounged beside the little cottages and every bare spot was filled with gardens. Beautiful things crowded against the stone pathways and half wild looking chickens darted between the horses' hooves. Everyone ignored the group of them. Mael understood. They all had things to do and several men riding horses wasn't that unique.</p><p>Mael cleared his throat. "I wasn't expecting something like this!"</p><p>"We've been here awhile," Wolfheart softly said. He had the lightest blue eyes that Mael ever saw and his mare was light boned just like he was. "Most people who come now are refugees from the war. Kane had to build a new fortress just for the scared ones."</p><p>Now Mael felt bad for planning on killing the man.</p><p>"Well, let's meet him." Mael grinned. "We have the Lion of Juba and he has an army. What more can a man want?"</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
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    <p>Aeryn really didn't like that he was called the Lion of Juba. That was Rhaegar's title, not his. He couldn't claim that. There was a good chance that his brother was dead, even if Aeryn didn't want to admit it. If he ignored it, that meant it wasn't real, right? It meant that he didn't have to think about his brother dying in pain, alone, enslaved by someone who saw him only as a fuck toy instead of the kind, gentle person that he was. He tried not to let the others see how scared he was as he entered into that castle, but he gripped Koda's reins and glanced towards Alyra and Adnan. The wolf looked like he was bored and the hawk eventually left to do whatever it was that hawks did.</p><p>Aeryn slid off the horse and touched the wolf's shoulder. Adnan started some, but he calmed down quickly enough and allowed Aeryn to pet him. Soldiers crowded all around them and the muddy courtyard was filled with ruts and dog shit. Huge dogs - mastiff type and covered in battle scars - ran around and snapped at everyone. Aeryn pressed close to the wolf. Adnan bared his teeth and marched through the crowd like he owned the place. He was easily twice as big as these dogs and he <em>knew</em> it. One of the dogs - a brindle bitch with cropped ears - lunged at Adnan. The wolf swatted the dog aside and sunk his teeth into its shoulder. The dog screamed and struggled, but there was nothing it could do and soon it lay dead on the ground.</p><p>Wolfheart swore under his breath. "Damn. You might want to put that wolf on a chain."</p><p>"No, I don't think so," Aeryn whispered. He let a ragged page boy take Koda and he pressed as close to the wolf as he could. "He's my friend and I don't want to lose him."</p><p>He didn't say that he was terrified. The heavy palisades seemed to press in on him and the men in armor filled him with fear. He pressed his shoulder into the silver grey wolf. The air was choked with the sounds of jangling armor, smiths working, dogs barking, and roosters crowing. Smoke hung in the air like a hazy blanket and Aeryn could see vast piles of burning peat. A smith sat beside a shack and turned out dagger blades by the hundreds as he stamped them into a mold. A herd of cattle paced in their corral and more dogs snarled when the saw Adnan. Aeryn glanced towards the dead bitch and shuddered. Three of the other dogs were already tearing into her side.</p><p>Trever must have noticed he was scared, because he slipped his hand into Aeryn's. "Hey, what's wrong?"</p><p>"Everything," Aeryn whispered. He hid his face and glanced towards Mael. "It's all wrong. I'm scared and I don't wanna be here." He took a shuddering breath and touched his chest. "It's like I'm being choked. Like the smith put some kind of burning hot chain on my chest and I can't get it off! I don't want to cry, I can't cry! I have to show them that I'm a man, that I'm a lion! But I - I can't! I'm not a lion!"</p><p>"It's okay to be scared," Trever whispered. He squeezed Aeryn's hand. "What happened?"</p><p>Aeryn shook his head and closed his eyes. A pair of guards glanced towards him and his blood ran cold. All he could see was his brother lying in the cold mud, clothed only by his beautiful hair, bleeding heavily between his creamy thighs. One of the guards grabbed him by his hair and shaved it all off, just because he could. Then they took turns with him again and beat him when he screamed. Aeryn grabbed Adnan again and took a shuddering breath. He was crying, he knew, but he didn't care. Trever held him close. Aeryn turned around and held on to his tunic with both fists. He didn't care what the others thought of him. Hell, he didn't care what <em>Mael</em> thought about him.</p><p>All he cared about was the pain going away.</p><p>Mael hurried over. "Let's get him in the castle."</p><p>"He's freaking out right now," Trever cautioned. "You think that will do any better?"</p><p>"You know what's in the Kayseri?" Mael asked. "Because I do. I know what's in that place and it's worse than the fucking <em>WildWood</em>! There are monsters there that are from the Time Before and werelions. I thought those things were extinct, but apparently not! They eat people, Trever! They eat people! I've seen one of them crouched over some poor dead guy and there's no way in hell I'm gonna stay out in that forest at night. Not without Adnan and a solid stone hut. I don't want us to get killed!"</p><p>"Fine," Trever sighed. He scooped Aeryn into his arms and kissed his head. "Let's get him out of the courtyard. He's scared of something and he's not telling me."</p><p>Aeryn wouldn't tell him what hurt so much. He just wanted to hold Trever and listen to his heart. That was all he could think of, listening to someone's calm and steady heart. Mael didn't seem to mind that Trever was holding him. He just squeezed Aeryn's hand and kept Kileo close to him. Aeryn could see the hungry looks on all the guards and knew what they wanted. It was the same as all the guards had wanted from Rhaegar. They wanted to make Kileo bleed and leave him to die in the mud, his guts hanging between his legs as he shivered and cried. Aeryn gagged on the rising bile. He grabbed Trever even more. Adnan stuck close to all of them and even snapped at the guards.</p><p>"I'm scared," Kileo whispered. "Can we go now?"</p><p>"No," Mael replied. He forced a smile on his face. "We need this army, little one. I'll keep you safe, I promise."</p><p>Aeryn closed his eyes even more. That was what Rhaegar had said, right before the world ended.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
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    <p>Mael didn't want Aeryn to freak out. If that happened too much, Kane was going to ask what was wrong with him and Mael was going to have to explain why he had the lesser prince. Not that there was anything wrong with Aeryn - he was one of the nicest people that Mael knew and devastatingly sexy - but he wasn't exactly the sort of prince that one might need to retake a kingdom. Sure, he could ride a dangerously wild horse, but he was freaking out when they walked into the middle of a forest fort. Trever had to carry the man. Even Kileo was doing better with the place than Aeryn was. Mael winced some and rested his hand in Adnan's thick, soft hair. He hoped that everything went well.</p><p>The inside of the hall was filled with rough carved wood and smooth tile. Some of them had been pressed with the faces of lions and wolves, while others were plain or set with pieces of quartz or bluestone. The tile looked like it came from two or three different ruins and even the carved bits of stone that made up the walls and ceiling. Iron worked, worn smooth by generations of feet, lined the stairs and the balcony. Hides were stretched over the walls and a massive white dog with an embroidered white collar lounged in front of an open fire pit. Pots, some of iron and others made of clay, were stacked up on the flat cooking stone and someone was making flat, round acorn loaves in scrubbed clean sandstone.</p><p>It had been a long time since Mael had ever been in this kind of castle. His boots sunk into the rush covered floor. They had been woven into handsome mats and used the natural colors of the plants to create geometric patterns. Piles of sleeping mats and old blankets were pushed against the plastered bits of stones and small dogs ran wild. A wild cat, leggy and the size of a small dog, settled beside a smaller fire and glared at everything that came past it. Adnan shied away from the thing. Mael wondered if he had been scratched by those beasts before or if there was just something that unnerved the much bigger wolf. Wolfheart didn't seem to mind the glaring, growling animals. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.</p><p>"My money's on the cat," Wolfheart drawled. "Think we can get that wolf of yours to fight?"</p><p>"Adnan." Mael glanced towards Wolfheart and hoped to the stars that Adnan obeyed. "Heel."</p><p>The wolf settled beside him and eyed Wolfheart like he was expecting to be hit. Mael tried to pet the wolf to soothe him, but Adnan dodged the touch and nipped him lightly. Wolfheart pursed his lips, but turned around sharply and waded through the mess that was the rest of the hall. Parts of the castle had been buried right into the ground and someone had been dipping candles right in the middle of the hall. Mael dragged the wolf away from the puddle of tallow. The last thing he wanted to do was have that wolf eat something that might make him sick. Mael ignored the nasty look. He just slipped into the rough plastered walls and eyed the linseed paper that covered the windows.</p><p>"Don't they have glass in the Kayseri?" Mael casually asked. "I was down in the villages and most decent houses had glass. Only the peasant hovels didn't! Not that this is a hovel - it's a really nice place - but that paper ain't gonna keep the cold out whenever the snow comes."</p><p>Wolfheart glared again. Mael was starting to wonder if that was the only expression he could make. He glanced towards the pretty knife hanging on the man's beaded belt. The belt was beaded in a way that reminded him of some of the First Nations - the design looked like trailing vines covered in small flower buds. The beads were glass, of course, and the buckle was probably made of brass. The First Nations folks were known for having excellent copper and brass work, which was one reason why Mael wanted to repair relations with them. The leather, too, was probably good quality. It was the knife, though, with the carved bone handle, that Mael wanted the most.</p><p>"Hey." Mael grinned and leaned against the painted plaster wall. "Think I can have that knife? What would you like for it?"</p><p>Wolfheart rested his hand on the hilt and narrowed his eyes. "That's not for sale."</p><p>"Why?" Mael asked. He crossed to the front of the little group. "It's pretty and everything has a price."</p><p>"Okay." Wolfheart chewed on his lip and gestured to Kileo. "Trade me for that one."</p><p>"What the fuck?!" Mael yelped. "Hell no! What the everlovin' fuck is wrong with you?!"</p><p>"That's how I feel," Wolfheart evenly replied. "Hell no and what's wrong with you?"</p><p>Mael shrugged. There was something he could say - that it was just a knife - but he kept his mouth shut. There were those who would say that Kileo was just a slave. There were those who would have traded Kileo for the blade in half a second, but Mael wasn't that type of person. He dropped back and squeezed Kileo's hand. He liked that kid, even if he probably was a bit too young to be dragged over Juba. Then again, he was probably too young to be hurt like he was. Mael wondered how many summers the kids had seen. He knew that it was less than Aeryn had and Aeryn was <em>young</em>. Not too young to be loved, but certainly young enough that he should have been safe in a castle.</p><p>Wolfheart took them to a plain room. "This is yours. The bell will ring for dinner and Kane will call for you when he's ready. Don't try to find him before he's ready. The last person who did that barely lived to regret it."</p><p>"Noted." Mael stripped his shirt off as soon as Wolfheart left the room and flopped back on the bed. "Hey, Trever."</p><p>"Yeah?" Trever tucked Aeryn into a smaller bed and kissed him softly. "Who are you going to piss off now?"</p><p>"I was going to ask you if you could see if there was running water or not," Mael sighed. "A hot bath with just the two of us would be nice, don't you think?"</p><p>Trever grumbled, but a wry smile crossed his face. "Maybe. No promises, though. I don't know you that well and part of me is still mourning. I miss her a lot and I don't want you to think that I'm just going to replace her."</p><p>"I know." Mael gave him a smile. "Trust me. I understand."</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
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    <p>Aeryn curled up under the heavy blankets and tried not to cry. He was supposed to be the Lion of Juba, the son of dragons, and the heir to the largest and most powerful throne in all of Setanna. There was no way that he should be so shaken just because he had slipped into a castle. Aeryn tried to ignore the fact that he hadn't been in a castle since he had escaped. All he could see where the long, winding hallways and all of them lead to a dungeon with foul, standing water. The Ceit had even dug places where a prisoner could just be... forgotten and, if they hated a man, they dug channels so that rain flooded the little pit.</p><p>One of Aeryn's friends, the knight Morran, had drowned that way. Aeryn still heard the screams if he listened long enough.</p><p>He curled close to Kileo and tried to ignore the dead swirling in his stomach. Just looking out the windows scared him. One of the many courtyards yawned far below them. The courtyard was lined with high wooden timbers, yes, but it was the flat sheets of sandstone that worried him the most. Aeryn knew what it looked like when a man fell from a ledge. He was dashed to pieces by those smooth, warm rocks and no amount of rain could wash the blood clean. This Kane, whoever he was, had at least planted a few climbing roses so the ugly sheets of stone were masked, but Aeryn could imagine the stones dripping with blood.</p><p>The room was pretty enough, he supposed, but Aeryn really wanted that cramped room in the inn or the nights in the stable with Mael. Even sleeping in that little hovel was better than this. At least Adnan was there. The great wolf had curled up on one of the rag rugs, and his golden eyes were heavy with sleep. Someone had placed a cut blue glass dish by the door. It was filled with water, cool and clear, and there was a ceramic dish filled with what looked like ground deer meat and maybe a few eggs.</p><p>If the Ceit king had been here, there was a good chance that the dish would have been filled with human meat. Aeryn had seen some of the knights deflesh the bodies of dead or dying prisoners and then feed the still bleeding meat to the pack of baying dogs. Aeryn knew that if he saw one of those dogs again, he would set Adnan on it. The dogs themselves - called blue dogs by the knights - were striking beasts. Most Juban dogs were brown with rough coats and a thick, fluffy tail that curled in excitement. A few even kept wolves, but they couldn't be compared to the short, wide dogs with white bodies and blue grey spots on their backs.</p><p>Aeryn threaded his fingers through a crocheted throw. He could hear the water running, along with Trever and Mael talking, but the sounds didn't calm him as they often did. All he could see was Mael, being dragged to a scaffold and forced up there with a sword. The way that the guards had taunted Aeryn's father still haunted him to this day. It was like he could feel the hatred dripping off of those men as they forced him to the muddy ground and made him watch as his own father was executed. There was a reason why he had nightmares. It happened to be the Ceit.</p><p>Kileo rolled over and yawned. "You're squeezing me."</p><p>"I don't want you to fall," Aeryn whispered.</p><p>"Fall?" Kileo asked. "Why would I fall? It's not like I'm standing on a cliff or something. The floor's maybe a foot away and I'll catch myself."</p><p>"Still." Aeryn didn't want to tell him what hard stone did to soft bodies. "It scares me."</p><p>"<em>Everything</em> scares you," Kileo grumbled. He propped himself up on his elbows and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "You would think that we were being chased by the Ceit or dangled over some kind of open... Oh. <em>Oh</em>. The Ceit kinda took your home, right? And the Ceit are right bastards, which means..."</p><p>"Yeah." Aeryn didn't want to explain. Whatever Kileo was thinking, Aeryn had seen worse. "Yeah. I don't wanna talk about it."</p><p>"Why?" Kileo teased. "It can't be that bad! I mean, my brothers decided that they didn't want anything to do with me, so they sold me to a passing caravan after they told my father a wolf had killed me. Shredded my favorite shirt and even dipped it in deer blood. Anyways, I wound up all the way in Juba with no way to get home and, let me tell you, the Ceit are pretty rough on the ones they think are slaves! I think if I ever get back to the sandmere, my first law as Duke is going to get rid of slavery. For good."</p><p>"Good for you," Aeryn grumbled. "But that won't bring my brother back."</p><p>"So?" Kileo asked. "I did not get dragged all the way here behind a mule to hear you complain about my law. And what brother?!"</p><p>"The brother the Ceit king killed," Aeryn growled. "I refuse to even say his name."</p><p>"Okay?" Kileo replied. "It's not like there's some kind of taboo on it, right? So if you even thought it, he's not gonna come running all the way up here just to chop off everyone's head? Though if he tried that, you have Adnan. He'll help, right?"</p><p>"Do you ever shut up?" Aeryn rolled over. "I'm trying to sleep!"</p><p>"Nope." Kileo poked his shoulder. "Nope, nope, and nope. You wanted me, you got me. Warts and all."</p><p>"That was Mael," Aeryn groaned.</p><p>"Ahh, yes. Your better half," Kileo teased. He sat up and the blankets fell off of his narrow body. "You know, I really do like him. He seems like a nice sort, even though he is a knight errant. You know, we didn't have very many of those in the sandmere. We had an army, yeah, but no one wants to cross a hundred miles of burning sand, coyotes, cactus, and more sand just to come mess with us. Why, they have to use camels!"</p><p>"Terrific." Aeryn pulled a pillow over his head and glared at the wall. "I really don't care, so shut up!"</p><p>Kileo glared daggers at him and if looks could kill, Aeryn would have been dead, but at least there was blessed silence.</p>
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